Seven Lights: The Side Stories
by Gamewizard2008
Summary: So many adventures are happening in the tremendous tale, so we must make room for a few more. Join Augustus on his Candied Adventure, Wendy and Facilier on their Mage Quest, and what's going on down in the Negaverse? As the universe draws closer to inevitable cataclysm, their journeys and struggles continue.
1. For Magic and Candies!

**If you all thought _Seven Lights_ couldn't get anymore confusing, well… we're jumping a little ways back in time for, you guessed it, some new story arcs! Welcome to the Seven Lights Side Stories, the DLC of the exciting saga as it were. Be forewarned, there will be important facts here, stuff will be relevant to the plot. I just needed some extra space to put everything. XDD Let's begin! (P.S. this chapter takes place during Chapter 6 of _Lights_.)**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1: For Magic and Candies!_**

 **Fizzuras Home**

Henrietta hummed merrily to herself. It was a crisp and clear morning, and she never missed the rising sun in the calm and comfort of her home more. After years of adventure, searching for her wayward son, they were home. On this new day, she once again looked forward to spending time with her family. "Augustus Liebeeeeee." She joyously walked upstairs, cracking open the door to her son's room. "Ihr Frühstück auf dem Tisch liegt. (Your breakfast is on the table.) Oh?"

Something wasn't right. There was a room. There was candy, dozens of adventuring souvenirs. But the blanket was askew. There was no son. The window was wide open. Henrietta approached it. She looked down at their driveway. …Something else was missing. "GYAAAAAAAAHHHH!" The entire neighborhood was woken. _"NOT AAAGAAAAAAAAIIIIIIN."_

 **Somewhere in the skies**

He couldn't stay in there for too long. True, it was a good place to store his memories, but he had to get back out again. And he was happy. Augustus von Marzipan y Fizzuras, having "borrowed" the two-man plane from his dad, wearing his mother's explorer's hat as the sun bounced off his sunglasses. The lollipop swished around in his mouth as the wind chilled his face. Adventure was out there, he would seek it.

In this jungle, miles away from the U.S., the water was brown and bubbly, flowing from distant ancient ruins. This was the site of his new adventure. He landed his plane some miles from it and climbed out. He pulled the barren lolli stick from his mouth and tossed it in the shrubs as he marched forward coolly. "Hurry up, you twerps."

In the backseat of his plane, three infants tumbled out. A White boy with a football head, a Black kid with an afro, and a yellow-skinned girl with spiky hair. "Come awn, Man, why we always gotta ride the ASS seat?" Rallo complained. "Can't we git somethin' more appealing on the posterior?"

"Look, that was the most stylin' plane we had, and we ain't got all the stuff we used to since Candied Island got ransacked by the Government. We all that's left, brats, and we gonna make the best of it." Augustus planted a foot on a rock and pointed forth with gusto. "The Marzipan Pirates are off on their grand adventure!"

"Right, 'cause a teenage boy takin' a bunch of toddlers for adventure can't be misinterpreted in any way." Rallo remarked.

"Mw-mw." Maggie agreed, her eyes still weary from her fight with Haylee.

"Chronologically frozen toddlers, you mean to say. 'sides, you're the only ones I could find. Even though I lost the Candy Virus, I still can't use my Haki for awhile. Doesn't mean I can't give you kids some wedgies and spread embarrassing rumors around your towns."

"NOT MAH peanut head, Man!" Rallo gripped his head panickingly.

"Yes, God knows your mother hasn't got anything under those 'melons'." remarked Stewie.

"Alright you twerps, enough whining. The Everbubble Fizz is brewing somewhere in this Fizzle-Fizzle Ruins and we're gonna be the first humans to taste it in centuries! Make use of those baby legs and MOVE!" Augustus unwrapped another lollipop and began slurping it. (Play "Chomp Ruins" from _Paper Mario: Sticker Star_.)

 _Stage B-1: Fizzle-Fizzle Ruins_

 _Mission: Find the Everbubble Fizz._

Augustus drew his Candycane Cutlass and slashed the shrubs as he marched first. Naturally, some were M. Bushes that wanted to snack on his flesh, but still no problem for this experienced explorer. He made it to a small ruin and walked up stairs to its roof as Beverage Patrol soldiers flew down with soda jetpacks. "Grandpa decided to visit me, huh? I might have time for some fun." He dodged their soda guns, whipped out his Everlasting Gobstopper, and chucked at the first Soda Man's face. He fell back and hit the ground, then the Gobstopper bounced back to Augustus's hand as he let their noses have it. The soldiers tried to recover, but Augustus rolled around and kicked them all unconscious. Afterwards, he took chocolate coins from their pockets, the only acceptable currency in Gumdrop Cove. The following area of ground was spikes, and large marshmallows called Bouncemallows were stationed on bushes around the road. Augustus threw Gobstoppers at their bases so the marshmallows rolled onto the spikes, and the teenager could bounce across.

He landed on a road through some ruins, where Beverage Soldiers appeared to be mining. Several holes were around, and soda geysers spouted out of them at certain intervals, so the men could collect them in their bottles. "Not before I do!" Augustus threw Gobstoppers at two of them, then punched three of them through the geysers. Four more locked their guns behind Augustus, but Rallo appeared behind them and blew them forward with soundwaves from his afro stereos. "Bringin' back the boombox."

Augustus approached a gentle river of soda, which had a few bubbles growing and popping, but it still just looked like brown sticky goop. "Bring it back right now. Try an' shake this soda up, Rallo." Augustus told him. The 5-year-old jumped, spun, and turned upside-down before burrowing into a soft patch of soil; apparently, he could do that. He sounded his boombox and shook the earth, effecting the river as well as the soda bubbled furiously. Augustus could run across the countless bubbles and rest on a platform. He collected a Bounce Gum, blew it to a reasonable size, and, since its bounces were too forceful for the soda bubbles, he bounced the small ruins whose tops stuck out above the soda.

He landed on a small, high ledge where he collected a Golden Wonka Bar, choosing to save that for later. He dropped back down and ran further across the bubbles, down a narrow part of the river that snaked in its direction. He didn't expect Rallo to hold up for long, so he bypassed the floating Beverage Men and hurried. He arrived at a waterfall of soda where log-size soda cans rolled down horizontal-ways. Augustus hopped each can to make his way up, then could safely jump off on a safe shore before the quaking stopped. Augustus stood before a tall structure, made of yellowish-brown brick that was sealed tight. He looked up as Stewie flew down on a jetpack. "Well, I checked around, there is not one hat out here I like."

"Yeh, I brought you 'cause you're the techno geek. Got any bombs or something?"

"You are not one for conversation." Stewie grabbed a time-bomb from his backpack and stuck it on the wall. They both backed away as it beeped, and blew an entrance open. The temple was wide and vacant inside, there were tiki statues designed like soda cans, and soda geysers popped out of various parts of the floor. Stewie took out a thin drill and twisted it into some soil, reading waves on a small monitor. "Soda's really unstable here. If not for all these holes, it'd have no place else to go."

Augustus walked around and observed several big holes in the ceiling. "If we poked holes under these ceiling holes and clogged enough of the geysers, can we force them to squirt us up there?"

"Well, I suppose we could force a bigger geeser to erect if we push enough in. It's the perfect chance to try out my Super Gum."

"Sounds like a—hold on, whaddid you say?"

"What? We can use my Super Gum to clog up these geesers."

"Don't you mean 'geysers'?"

"Yes, these geesers, we can use Super Gum to block the geesers so a larger one will erect."

"…I'm not gonna argue about this. Just gimme the gum."

Confused on what Augustus was 'arguing' about, Stewie gave him the pink strip of gum. Augustus chewed and blew a large bubble to pop over one of the geesers—I mean, geysers, and Stewie used his device to project more gum so Augustus could clog them all. Stewie used his drill to poke a hole under a ceiling hole, and both stood over it as the ground shook, and a massive soda geyser sent them flying out and onto a platform above the roof. Augustus collected a Gold Wonka Bar, but the route forward was above another platform, 'course now they knew which hole to blast out of. The other holes had nothing around them, though Augustus suspected Sodium Chuchu would appear after he broke through the roof afterward. They jumped back into the temple as Stewie sucked all of the popped gum into his Gum-Molder and refigured them into little strips that Augustus could chew and clog the holes again (they had to open a few holes so the large geyser would shrink, making it easier to plug).

Memorizing the correct ceiling hole, Stewie poked a hole underneath after the geysers were plugged, and the duo went flying onto the tall ruin. A path between numerous small temples stretched before them, but a grappling hook latched onto the edge of their foothold, and Maggie Simpson came flying up. "Hey, Mags. What's up?" Augustus asked.

"Mw-mw-mw."

"Taffy Ninjas up ahead?" Stewie repeated.

"Mw-mw."

"I see. Allow me to help you. That pillar looks good." Stewie held onto Maggie as the latter latched her hook onto a nearby totem that stretched from the ground below, much higher than Augustus's route. He gave Maggie a pair of goggles to enhance her weakened vision, and the body-heat waves of the Taffy Ninjas were seen behind the buildings.

"I'm counting on you, twerps." Augustus told the children. He ran fearlessly up the path, and Maggie saw the nimble ninjas making their move. When they were exposed to Maggie's view, it took one shot each to take them out. _"Turn left!"_ Stewie told Augustus through the communicator, so the teenager turned a left route while Maggie shot the ninjas chasing him from the right. _"Up the stairs!"_ Augustus ran up a small flight of stairs, ninjas climbed onto roofs to lock on with crosshairs, but Maggie shot them down first. _"Another right, then the temple's on your left."_ Augustus followed another right path, trusting Maggie to shoot the ninjas on the way, then he could safely rush to the temple up a left path.

The stone dial on the doorway had three turnable segments, with the center part a pull-tab, a mouth on the medial segment, and a hole on the outer-most. He turned the outer so the hole was at the bottom, revealing another mouth on the wall beneath, then had the medial mouth face the bottom before using the tab to pop it open, causing an interior device to force the lower mouth open. The stone gate creaked open, so Augustus could enter. Two fountains of orange soda brewed, their bubbly scent reaching his nose. "Hmm, it smells like Fizzy Lift Soda… but there's something else about it. Oh well." Augustus scooped a cup of the soda and drank.

His body became light as a feather as he glided down a nearby hole. The hole stretch hundreds of feet downward, but the Fizzy Lift Soda would provide a soft descent. Orange Chuchu whose color matched the soda were round as bubbles, floating around the cave, but still threatened to harm Augustus with their electrified bodies. Maneuvering with a lightweight body was difficult, but the Chu were fairly slow. He reached the hole's bottom and floated into a doorway, entering a wide hall with orange sodafalls coming out of the walls, into an endless chasm below. Beverage Men used their sodapacks to fly and try to shoot the explorer down, but Augustus used aerial maneuverability to dodge, kick off some pillars for momentum, and throw his fist against the men to make them fall.

Bubbles floated up from the falls for Augustus to inhale and refuel his Fizzy Lift. He could safely burp it all out to land on a safe ledge, then go down stairs through a narrow passage. He arrived at the temple's core, where a giant pool of orange soda bubbled like magma, continuously turning a huge stone churner with a round wooden platform around it. "Hmm… so this is the Everbubble Fizz. I see. The Ancient Peztecs thrived on soda, their land was built upon natural sodium channels. They constructed this complex structure to constantly churn the richest, most endless soda imaginable. …History's wonders."

 _"Quite an observation, mi nieto."_ A bulky figure in soda-barrel armor crashed onto a platform across the room. "And the Peztecs will SERVE their purpose, when their luscious soda becomes my bestselling brand!"

"Angelo Fizz. Hola, Abuelo."

"Impressive work finding your way through, but _I_ was here, first!" Mr. Fizz declared. "My Beverage Patrol will harness every ounce of sodium from this ground! My machines will be unstoppable, and teenagers will become so energized, those rotten Kids Next Door will NEVER defeat them!"

"Didn't I hear your Teen Ninjas disbanded from Evil Adult Industries and joined the Government?"

"That's none of your business!"

"Whatever." Augustus pulled out the dry lolli and dropped it. "Anyone who gets this far is free to taste the fizz, but no one's sucking it all from the ground when I'm around. You got to the count o' drei to take all your troops away from here."

"Humph. And what will you do if I disobey?"

Augustus smirked. "Find out. Einer…" His eyes narrowed on Fizz. "Zwei…" The adult cocked his soda blasters. "Drei!"

 _Boss fight: Angelo Fizz_

Fizz blasted Augustus's platform with a soda stream, so the teenager leaped onto the turning platform around the churner. Mr. Fizz blasted more soda, and Soda Chuchus emerged from the resulted puddles, jumping onto Augustus with super sticky bodies. The teenager shook furiously to knock them all off, quickly dodging a soda blast. He jabbed his feet at the blobs' faces before facing up at his grandpa, trying to keep toward his side on the turning platform to throw a Gobstopper at one of his cannons. He damaged and rendered it useless, so when Fizz locked the cannon on his right arm, Augustus tossed the Gobstopper again and- "Ah!" disabled it.

Mr. Fizz angrily leapt onto the churner with Augustus, raising his big barrel feet in attempt to crush him, but Augustus was swift to dodge. He looked behind as a Soda Chu emerged from a puddle, dodging when the blob jumped at him, then Fizz stomped on it and caused his foot to be stuck to the foothold. "Gah! Blast it!"

"Gracias!" Augustus dropped to the ground below and climbed a ladder onto one of the high platforms against the walls. "Hm, a switch… wonder what it does?" Augustus stepped on the device, and the churner doubled in speed.

"H-H-Hey! Stooop! Baaaaah-bl-gl-gl-gl-l-l-l-l-l-l-l." Unable to shake himself off the sticky puddle, the increased speed shook the soda in Fizz's barrels, channeled to his mouth and giving him Dizzy Fizzy, 'cause that's a thing. The supervillain broke free, activated soda jets from his leg barrels, and flew up to the ceiling, sticking on using soda from his arm and leg cannons. His head barrel opened to reveal a huge soda bottle cannon, blasting powerful bubbles that exploded with great range. Augustus jumped to the lower ground, his grandpa continuing to blast, but the boy soon realized bubbles had come up from the pool, thanks to the enhanced churning. They were very thick and bouncy, flying around the room, so he knew he could use them.

Augustus avoided his grandpa's cannon and bounced up the bubbles, each popping upon his kicks. Mr. Fizz had to turn around so his cannon could face Augustus, but the explorer nimbly dodged every shot as he made it to the armored adult and punched him in the face. The adult lost his grip and fell to the floor, taking a good amount of self-control to stand back up and keep the bubbling soda from shattering his barrels. "Enough of this tomfoolery! I will battle you directly with Sorate (soe-rah-tay), powered by a small form of the greatest of sodas!" Angelo turned, revealing the Pepsi icon on the back of his body barrel, changing to a Purple Flurp icon. "Purple Flurp! Know the fearsome power of concealed belches!" The purple substance flowed through his pipes, to his mouth and his barrels, and Fizz, unable to release the gas in burps, was super-fizzed.

Augustus hurriedly dodged his fast punches, but an untimed dodge resulted in him flying to the wall, backfirst. Angelo boosted for another punch, Augustus dodged as the barrel burst through the wall, and orange soda poured in. Seeing no other option, Augustus kissed his mouth against the hole and slurped the soda; the Everbubble Fizz made his nervous system unstable beyond compare. Fast as light, Augustus dodged his grandfather's next punch, jumped behind him, and socked the back of his head. Angelo whipped around with an arm outstretched, Augustus ducked the barrel and swung his foot against the man's crotch; through the body barrel. Augustus ducked between his legs, kicked Fizz in the back, and he stumbled toward the pool.

Fizz stopped himself in time to catch breath. "Ha ha! You think the Everbubble makes you strong, but I have the main source! I will absorb its power and-"

Augustus released a burp that blew Fizz into the source. His barrels absorbed the Everbubble against his will, and the adult soon realized the power beyond control. "OOOOOOOOHHHH!" Fizz went flying like a rocket, through the ceiling and into the sunny sky. They always said shooting stars were giant bottles of soda, and now Augustus saw where they got that idea.

Augustus panted after the Everbubble wore off. "Silly Abuelo. Sodium is for the youth." (End song.)

Stewie and Maggie came down from the hole using their jetpack and grappling hook respectively, while Rallo popped out of the ground. "By the way, I ate the Mole-Mole Fruit also, so I can do this. Nah, I'm just kidding!" the afro boy joked. "I'm just abiding by ancient cartoon laws."

Stewie dipped one end of a pipe into the Everbubble and sucked it into two glass containers. "Two half-gallons. 't's gonna be one hell of a drinking party. Nothing like a bar of man-children staying up past bedtime."

"Makes worthwhile entertainment. Let's get it back."

The team made their way across the ruins and returned to their plane, the _Ace Flyer_. Augustus's cellphone rang, so he answered. "Yello?"

 _"AUGUSTUS VON FIZZURAS, SIE WENIG BLAG! Get your arse home right now before I recite a passage from the Boy Who Loved to Suck His Thumbs! You know you're a vanted criminal for working vith those Big Mams!"_

"Chill, Ma, I brought my cellphone, didn't I? I'm just getting some air, I'll be home in awhile."

 _"You come home NOW! ! If I find out you're at Gumdrop Cove, you're gonna be swabbing the deck at our house until you're-"_

Augustus hung up, smiling coolly and starting the plane. His phone rang, so he answered, _"DID YOU JUST HANG UP ON ME, YOU SHI-"_ Hung up again.

"You can never go home, Man, you realize that?" Rallo inquired.

"Eh, didn't plan on it. Come on. To Gumdrop Cove we sail!" The explorers were off to the sky, their Jolly Roger – a skull designed like Augustus, with his explorer hat, grinning with a lollipop – blowing behind them.

 **Across the U.S.**

For the past several months, a blue blur has been zipping around many parts of the country. Everyone, mostly kids' immediate conclusion was that it was Sonic the Hedgehog, still runnin' about to stop Dr. Eggman. That was 20 years ago, kids. Instead, it was Wendy Marvell, a girl of whom no one knew her origins, only that it was a blustery day wherever she ran. It was natural she lost track of where she was; the world was a blur most of the time. Just running countryside streets that stretched for miles… and little boys in racecars who drove alongside her. Actually, that was kinda new. On Wendy's right, a blue racecar with red flames sped along, and she exchanged curious looks with its cute, young driver with breezing brown hair and red glasses.

"Uhhh… hey there?" he greeted.

"Oh? Sorry!" Wendy smiled sheepishly. "This isn't your road, is it? I was just out on one of my daily runs."

"Uhhhh… I see that." At 100 miles per hour, clearly. "You like running, do ya?"

"Yup! It gets me places faster!"

"Heheheh! Yeah, it does! On to an important meeting."

"Ah, that's life for ya. Well, I won't keep you. So long!" She shifted a different way.

"Great talkin' to ya!"

"You too! Byyyye!"

So Wendy kept running for miles and miles. Blowing past dozens of discarded papers in city streets, including a poster of Hers Truly.

 _WANTED_

 _Wendy Marvell_

 _A.K.A.: 'Sky Dragon'_

 _For possible connections with Revolutionaries_

 _Reward: $7,000,000 (in 700,000,000 pennies)_

 _(By order of the World Government)_

It landed next to a poster of Augustus, too.

Wendy eventually stopped in a peaceful meadow around the base of some distant mountains, catching her breath. "I wonder where that boy was going. Everyone has adventures! Ha ha ha!" That was such a brief meeting, but one Wendy wouldn't forget. She already felt like she made a new friend, and the fact they met so strangely must've meant destiny. "Oh! I hope I didn't-"

"Lose me?" Wendy turned around. A little kitten with snow-white fur, shiny brown eyes, and angel wings, wearing a pretty red dress with a yellow tie with a pawprint; however strange these latter descriptions sounded. Also, she talked in an elegant lady-like voice. Having finally caught up with the child, the kitten landed on her hind paws to catch breath.

"Sorry, Carla." Wendy blushed. "I just got sidetracked is all. There was a boy driving a racecar a while back."

"You're starting to see things." Carla stretched her wings. "This air is getting to your head. How long has Mr. Facilier been sending you on errands?"

"Only the past couple of months. He thought it would be good experience before I finally go to Hogwarts next fall. Though he made it seem like I was going right away… o-oh well, what's a little adventure! I never knew so many magical items lied around the place. Uhhh… what are we looking for, again?"

"Thank goodness you found me when you did since you can't keep your head on straight." Carla pulled out a small paper. "We're looking for Fan Flowers, which spin and emit a gentle breeze. Grows naturally in Windy Valley."

"It's windy alright… or is that just me."

"Unless Facilier's so-called Chi-Stabilizers are faulty, I think it's safe to say. Let's find these flowers and return to him, Child."

"I'll do my best!" (Play "Toad Harbor" from _Mario Kart 8_!)

 _Stage B-2: Windy Valley_

 _Mission: Find the Fan Flowers._

The sky was blue with few clouds, the endless green plain and its colorful flowers looked lovely under the sun as Wendy ran with the wind. "Rocks are coming up ahead. I know how clumsy you get." A series of short rocks were coming, Wendy jumped, did a midair splits over the first one, planted her feet on the ground to resume pace, jumped the next rock, then the next. A stairway of taller, jagged rocks approached, even though Wendy could run around them, she wanted to prove her agility. She jumped, midair-flipped, planted her hands on the first rock, flipped and flew to the next, then the next, then two more before grabbing a Fire Soul (a red ring with a flame) in midair before landing and resuming run. "Oh yes, Facilier wanted those, too. If you see one, try to collect it."

This half of meadow was reaching its end, above a towering cliff over the sea where jagged pillars stood everywhere. "You're an airbender, right? You can make this." Wendy kept her speed going, performed a terrific leap, her Air Chi keeping her aloft for several feet until she landed on a flat-topped rock. She could either jump a row of GUN Beetles rightward to another rock, but Gold Beetles spawned one at a time to the left, so Wendy seized the chance and flipped across them to land on a different pillar. Towering above her left was another jagged rock, she used a small rock beside her as a boost to flip onto the taller one's side, running around and around until she made it on top, collected the Fire Soul, and flew to the distant next path.

She ran across this road supported over the sea by rocks, but when it would run off before a series of tall pillars, Wendy jumped to and kicked across them all, her sudden force making the unstable pillars collapse. She landed on a ledge and rushed across the next area of meadow. "The Government's on to you. They've sent drones."

"No problem!" GUN Laser Hunters locked on and were about to fire, Wendy slid along the ground, swung her leg, and knocked one off its feet, then nimbly dodged the other's gun to blast him away with air. Squads of GUN Rhinos rolled at her as she whooshed sideways air gusts and knocked them upside-down, but the same could not happen for the Metal Rhinos, with a sturdy rectangle-shaped structure that kept them upright. "You could always use magic against them." Carla said.

Wendy considered it for a moment, but a Rhino sped at her during, so she dodged. "Sigh, I don't know any spells." She leapt over and ran away from the Rhinos, coming to a wide trench with a high opposite ledge, but a line of Sky Hawks swooped by that allowed Wendy to hop up. She ran across the following meadow to a tall cliffside, where Hunters and Beetles locked their weapons on the child. She dodged a Hunter's gun, blew him and some Beetles away, then tried to blast another Hunter, but his shield blocked her wind. Wendy ran behind the Shield Hunter, took hold and whipped him around, then blasted him into another Shield Hunter. Five Beetles blasted guns, but Wendy spun a Wind Shield to deflect their bullets. "Haaaa!" Carla flew above and Torpedo Spun at a Beetle, knocking it into another, and when the others tried to face her, Wendy thrusted her fists and blasted them away with gusts.

"Thank you, Carla." Wendy smiled. She jumped into an enclosing of the cliff, jumped out by its left side, and propelled herself into a next-door higher enclosing, using a double-jump to shift direction in midair. She was close to the top of the cliff, but it was a bit too high, so, "Um… will you lift me, Carla?"

"Okay. But you need to lose some weight." Wendy double-jumped, then Carla clutched her paws on either side of her waist and lifted her. She poured a lot of strength in her wings to lift the heavy human, and before her little arms gave out, she placed Wendy onto the cliff. They were at the top of a horrendously steep hill, and her speed was unparalleled as Wendy ran down, unable to stop her legs. "Aie! Ow! Ahh!" She tripped on a rock, and had more of a hassle getting control as she wouldn't stop rolling. She couldn't even get the Fire Soul she passed, for she was round and non-stopping as a boulder. She stopped on her rear at the hill's base, shaking her head of dizzy. Facing open sea (except for rock pillars) ahead, she mustered her speed and ran across the surface.

She maintained her constant speed to avoid submerging into the sea—not that she couldn't swim, it's just faster this way. She ran up a ramp and performed midair poses for some Trick Points, ran up another ramp to fly to and jump across some Beetles, resulting in a Fire Soul, then took land on a long, wooden pier. A giant killer whale destroyed the pier as it chased Wendy, she had to run off and across the water, pouring extra speed in her legs to outrun the monster, coming to a dead-end cliff, but a sudden water spout emerged from the surface to blow Wendy upward. Windmill towers stood about the meadow, the breeze chillier on Wendy's skin as she ran with more spirit.

Wendy ran up the short spiral of a tower, took hold of the end of one of its blades, and made the device spin faster before she flung herself into the sky. Thousands of feet were between her and the ground, but the wind was very strong and blowing upward, giving her the sensation of flying like a bird. She landed atop the first of many tall pillars, where a GUN Hornet locked its missiles. They released, but Wendy squatted, leaped high, and caused the missiles to ram each other when they failed to chase. Carla destroyed the Hornet, then carried Wendy up to a distant pillar on the left. Wendy planted her feet on a grindrail and used her wind-like speed to zip across.

It swerved around many pillars, Wendy ducked or jumped some Beetles, then the rail led her into the sea again as she ran once more. The killer whale was dead ahead, leaping high above and coming down with its mouth open. Wendy timed, and jumped, landing atop its head and dashing up its back. She listened to its terrific splash after she jumped off the tail, taking land on a ledge. She ran only a short distance left before arriving at a garden where windmill-like flowers, large and small, emitted their gentle breeze. (End song.)

Wendy bent down and happily plucked a Fan Flower, holding it by her face to feel its chill. She gently plucked more flowers and put them in her Infi-Satchel. "That should be enough, right?"

"I hope… huff…" Carla rested on the ground. "My wings are not even a year old, they should not have to work this hard."

"I'm sorry…"

They both stood and stared at the endless grassland. Every grass blade and flower swayed to the wind, the clouds were passing fast overhead. "Carla… where do you think we come from?"

"How many times are you going to ask me that?"

"I'm just saying, I found your egg washed up on a beach, and I, er, expected a sea turtle, so the minute you popped out, it's felt like… we were both in the same boat." Her hair blew behind her with the wind, exposing Wendy's long pointed ears, another odd trait next to her red eyes and deep blue hair. "Did your parents abandon you, or did they…"

"It is curious, but I'm at least thankful to be born under somebody than nobody. Regardless of my origins, you, Mr. Facilier, and those hooligan twins are my current 'family.'"

"Heh heh heh." Wendy blushed, scratching her head. "But considering how none of us are related, it's so weird. …" She faced out at the horizon again, wondering how far the valley's wind stretched. "Oh well. We'll find our families someday, count on it. Come on, let's get back to Virginia!" She ran off.

"Urgh, wait for me!" Carla flapped her wings and followed.

 **Dr. Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

After 20 years of business, it was well-known about the witch-doctor selling magic stuff in his old shop in a back alley. Harvey Facilier became a close friend of all of the kids in town, every day, children were excited to visit his shop. "One at a time, kids, dang!" the witch-doctor proclaimed. "This ain't St. Mungo's for Magical Maladies!"

A little blonde girl in a purple dress was first. "Mr. Facilier, my brother keeps being mean to my pet frog. Can I have Pixiefrog Dust?"

"Sure, Viola! Feed and take good care o' him." Facilier took her money and passed the bag of green dust.

A brown-haired boy was next. "Mr. Facilier, I wanna get back at these girls for dunking a fishtank on me."

Facilier gave him a syringe, "Pseudo-Mermosis, kid, has no after-effects, doesn't hurt, but super convincing."

A brown-haired girl with green eyes. "Mr. Facilier, I cut myself playing with a kitchen knife, and I don't want my mom to know."

Facilier got a Band-Aid, put it over the cut on her arm, and- "Blood be gone!" The wound vanished when he ripped it off. "Ahright, next!"

Round after round of child lined up in his shop, steadily their numbers decreased. The final one of the day was a brown-haired girl with a black shirt under a gray jacket. "Hey, Mr. Facilier."

"Samantha, glad to see you again! What'll you be having today?"

"Um… well, my brother's in the Kids Next Door, and he tells me about a lot of crazy stuff that happens, so… do you have a good luck charm?"

"I have the works! Seven-leaf clover, golden Holy Cross bells—not settling well with my other stuff, I wanna get rid of 'em—777 necklace, horseshoe shoes, name your pick!"

"Uh-hu… just the clover." She blushed.

He took her money and gave her the little plant. "Um, Mr. Facilier… do you know if all these bad things he talks about… are true?"

"You mean psychotic Nature Goddess, dimension-destroying space clown, or mutated candy demons? Yeah, kinda. But you ain't need to worry, 'cause as the magical world will tell you, evil never triumphs! We had all kinds of lunatic wizards back in our day, not one of them got away! Well, Herpo the Foul's still a mystery, but immortality only gets so far!"

"Well… okay." She smiled. "'Cause, he also says that his leader told everyone, this really big _thing_ is gonna happen that'll destroy the world, so um, that got me worried, but he thinks it's all a joke, and like, I think so too, 'cause it's outta nowhere… A-Anyway, bye-bye now. And thanks!" She excitedly ran out.

Facilier smiled with satisfaction, kicking back on his chair. He loved seeing the happy faces on children, making the best of their childhood and enjoying their life by doing whatever crazy shenanigan they have in store for his magical doohickeys. Ever since he was young, even if he was never in Kids Next Door like his friends, it always seemed all he wanted was to make children happy, even after all his crazy affairs with the Underworld.

His door swung open, and the blue-haired child he was expecting to return ran in. "Mr. Facilier! I brought the—!" Wendy Marvell tripped on her feet and fell on her front, both arms outstretched with the satchel. "Oww, the… fans."

Carla helped her up as Facilier took the satchel and fished for the five Fan Flowers, greeted by their soft breeze. " _Sniiiiiff_ , ahhhhh, yes, this is nice."

"Are you going to be using them for products, Mr. Facilier?"

"Ehh, maybe. But I mostly needed a fan or two." Facilier put the flowers into a small bowl of water. "This place gets really stuffy."

"Isn't that a little selfish to send Wendy out to certain danger just for a means of personal comfort?" Carla asked disapprovingly.

"The girl got experience, ain't she, that's all I'm tryin' to give her, and since yo' with us now, well everyone's gotta do their part for the business." He shrugged. "Y'all need the experience too, Charles, as moderately intelligent as you are, you were just born… three weeks ago. You _need_ experience, and runnin' around with Wendy is the key to that."

"Mr. Facilier, did you ever find out what kind of creature Carla is?" Wendy asked.

"Siiiigh." Facilier pulled up a large book from under his table, while his shadow got one off the shelf, as both mindlessly flipped pages. "I tried, Kid. I really did. But they ain't nothin' in here. They got magical cats that can see through disguises, a breed of black cats who can shadowbend (might get me one o' those), and these little Remlit things that live in Skypia and get real _nasty_ durin' the night. But not ONE thing about a magic talking winged cat that hatches outta an egg. _You'd think the media will be all over that! !_ My next guess was she was a Pokémon, but no Cat-types match her appearance."

"I wish we knew. What if her parents lost their egg and couldn't find it? I really want to find out where you came from."

"If it's any consolation, I'm not extremely interested in discovering my origins." Carla replied. "Helping around here is fine."

"You're very modest, Carla, but when a magic connoisseur like me gets on it, they ain't no stoppin'!" Facilier winked. "You can count on me."

The doors flew open as two coated twins stumbled in. "MR. FACILIER, MISTER! We got it we got-" Sonny and Donna crashed into Wendy as they all fell down. "Oops. Sorry, Wendy." The former said.

"We were going fast! Like you!"

"LET'S DYE YOUR HAIR LIKE A CHEETAH."

Their cleats were putting pressure on her back. "No thanks, guys." She said dizzy.

"LIIIINE UP." thundered Facilier. The four of them were on their feet, the Climbers in front, Wendy and Carla behind. "Y'all ready for a Magic Quiz? ?"

"YES, SIR." All nodded.

"PERFECT! Now, Question 1: How did magic originate?"

"OH!" Wendy perked, but the answer didn't come as quick as she'd hoped. "Um- um- um- um-"

"I KNOW, I KNOW!" Sonny spoke ecstatically. He looked at the ceiling, an illusion of stars levitating. "During God Arceus's creation of the universe and the elements, traits of elements seeped into each other's Element Plate, and those compounds were channeled and compressed into a single plate which would then be used to create the stars and Star Children, primarily Jirachi. That energy which comprised of all elements would be used as a sense of spirituality regarding imagination. While other cultures have similar stories, humans developed the power around 5,000 years ago in Egypt, by molding and gathering several elemental and spiritual energies into items, such as scepters. In time, although many were nonbenders, they have utilized ways of simulating bending to a great and even better extent.

"In time, wizards and witches became a society that challenged benders, but because of their power, benders and nonbenders feared them, so they were forced into hiding using their magical means. Since magical energy is drawn from all elemental areas, this is especially so for dark areas like the Shadow or Underworlds, primary sources in general which create Dark Magic. Magical governments were created, having acknowledged their powers as great and dangerous, and established a variety of laws and rules to keep the hidden and normal world at peace. This didn't fit well to all types, as dark wizards desired power over all 'Muggles'—as they called non-magic/bender humans, to show their superiority."

Sonny was engagingly skimming _History of Magic_ , Volume 1, "'Primary bodies of magic include potions that utilize all sorts of supernatural items for incredible effects, it is important to remember when…'"

"E-Excuse me, are we allowed to read from the book?" Wendy asked confusedly.

"Well, a history book's a history book, none knows how strong the credibility." Facilier replied. "There's hundreds of mysteries surrounding magic, no one knows how it ultimately began, but everything else is true. Mages really are different from element benders—we don't have a chi flow, over time, our powers became as natural to our bodies as blood, bone, and breath. We've done things that benders would take _years_ of training to do. Liiike this!" He stuck his hand in his hat, surprising the kids when a giant hand reached in from the ceiling, pulled Carla back up, and out came a fly-size Carla flying around. "The greatest trick to all my visitors, hhhhhahahahahahahaha!" Carla flew back into the hat, appearing normal-sized.

Wendy raised her hand. "Mr. Facilier, are magic users really as evil as people say they are?"

"The same was thought of benders, too, Kid, it all depends on the person. You though, Wendy, you're a rare type; not many people are born with both powers. It isn't hard to find a shadowbender who knows a few magic tricks, but airbenders for example, special. Any mage born with an element can do magical things with that element; some say new bending arts in general were created from studying mages."

"Then maybe my wind curse was created because I have magic."

"That is a possibility. But I told you about Rumpel Stiltskin—born with magic AND timebending. Not a good combination! Terrible choice on Dialga's part. That's a thing, though, magic isn't based on bloodline or inheritance, even humans of ordinary families are born with it. That's why we think the gods—Jirachi for instance, have a say in who gets the power sometimes. But it may just be their energies leaking and molding together across the universe, then finds its way into mortal bodies."

"Are magic users stronger than element benders?"

"I wouldn't put it past 'em. A single bender can develop their skills to incredible power that mages couldn't match; but mages can develop their magic to a level that's more formidable than any bender. You know about Logia benders, and I don't know any mage who can match such a godlike power; unless they were a bender themselves. The fact still stands, your magic and your airbending, Wendy, can create an excellent combo that uses powers a normal airbender couldn't do. You'll develop your powers when you go to Hogwarts, but getting as much learning in as you can beforehand will set you ahead."

"But… Mister…" Wendy spoke sadly. "This month, isn't that… _thing_ supposed to happen?"

"Ahhhh, yes." Facilier nodded regrettably. "This event, Wendy, I see it only as a thing to test everybody's strength. The first test is how one stomachs it; embraces it's going to happen. The next step… will be how far one goes to try and do something about it. What say you, Girl? Do you have the strength to face it?"

"I…I don't know." Wendy looked down. "I only just learned about my magic a few months ago; I've been studying really hard, but I don't think I know enough to…"

"Well, the job ain't solely on yo' shoulders, there are dozens more panicking and preparing. All you need is the strength to support them, Wendy; to the best of your abilities. Even in just one month, it's a skill you can learn. Will you do it, for the friends you came to know?"

Wendy looked up with a nod of determination. "I will. I'll do my very best."

"That's our girl!" He slapped her back. "Now come, we goin' to Diagon, and we ain't stop 'til yo' magic and airbending become one. Facilier and Wendy's Mage Quest starts now!" He grabbed a handful of powder from a bag, threw it into a fireplace, and lit with emerald flames.

"Sonny and Donna, too! HOORAAAY!" cheered the Ice Climbers.

"Here it starts, Wendy!" Facilier put an arm around the girl. "Just an old great-uncle, a girl named Wendy, two excited twins, and their pet going on crazy adventures whilst selling magic items from their shop for a profit!"

"Um, Mr. Facilier, isn't there a TV show based around those things?"

"Nonsense, girl, we totally original, what could you mean?"

A poster advertising _Gravity Falls_ hung on a wall in the shop, its main cast waving at us. "All we need is a fat guy with daddy issues!" Donna perked.

"D'OH!" Homer Simpson cursed.

"Ooo, one more thing." Facilier knelt before Wendy, put brown contacts over her red eyes, and rubbed magic cream that made her pointed ears rounded. "I still prefer if people don't know who you're related to. Not that they's anything wrong with how you look, it's just for safety measures."

The subject of her unnamed father again. Wendy only frowned and nodded. "Mm."

With that, they all stepped into the emerald flame. "Wait a sec, does that imply I'm the 'pig'? ?" Carla stated before they vanished.

* * *

 **Yeah, since I started watching _Gravity Falls_ , I noticed their overall concept was similar to what I had planned for Wendy's story. ;3 Wendy and Carla are both from _Fairy Tail_ as a refresher, but their story will mainly consist of magic-related crossovers. And Augustus's central theme, besides candy, will be pirates, and you know I just can't see this story complete without pirate adventures. X3 Anyhoo, we'll see more of their stories next time, then we'll take a little trip… downstairs. Until then. ;3**


	2. Galactic Juvy

**This chapter's for all the RoWen fans out there! Er, part of this chapter is! (Note: This also takes place during Chapter 6.)**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 2: Galactic Juvy_**

 **Diagon Alley**

The team of five appeared out of a fireplace in a dingy alleyway. "Look sharp." Facilier told them as they scrambled to recover from the fire. He led them to the city street, very cramped as oddly-clothed figures roamed everywhere. The windows of every shop were filled with all the magi essentials, broomsticks, wands, pointy hats, as well as (to Wendy and Carla's disgust) severed animal organs. Posters advertised the renowned Hogwarts School, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes featuring the Ghost of Fred, and a new haunted house attraction called The Witch's House, based on an old legend from New Oakland.

"Harvey Old Bean, wonderful to see you!" a man called.

"Bonjour, Mr. Baggins!"

"Facilier, Dear, you make the most wonderful hotcakes!" a lady said.

"Ha ha ha, I do my best."

"I say, that's a _marvelous_ specimen." A man with a long thin mustache and monocle examined Carla. "Is this an undiscovered breed or some experiment?"

Carla flew up and glared in his eyepiece, "I'll make you into both if you don't back off."

Facilier mentioned many times that this was a wizarding community, but Wendy's never seen it herself until now. She shirked a lot, for she really stood out regarding color scheme; a lot of people were pretty gloomy and dark-looking. Well, their clothing did, the people actually seemed pretty happy, but passed curious looks to the blue-haired maiden and her flying cat nonetheless. She honestly hoped unique hair colors were common in magic worlds, but not this one it seemed. "M-Mr. Facilier, you said a lot of mages need to go into hiding because of their power. Is that why it's so crowded?" she asked.

"Well, yes." Facilier frowned. "But since benders and metahumans became more 'accepted' 20 years ago, it's not AS bad, but wizards of all people are still 'frowned' upon; or rather, feared. Even among benders we're unnatural. Wizards ain't as revered as in the Negaverse. I wouldn't sink so much into it, we've gotten pretty used to."

Wendy wanted to ask what the 'Negaverse' was, but didn't wanna distract him too much while they were navigating. She saw a group of kids gathered around a building's window with a Magic Mirror TV inside. Wendy stood at the back of this group and saw an anchorwizard and witch in the mirror. The small picture behind them depicted a familiar baldheaded wizard in a black cloak.

 _"In other news, the 2nd of May is nearing, marking the 34th anniversary since the fall of Tom 'Voldemort' Riddle. Known for taking many steps forward in the field of Dark Arts, commanding thousands of humans and inhuman creatures to his whim, and achieving immortality through the use of Horcruxes, he will always be remembered as the wizard who brought the greatest age of suffering in all of Wizarding History."_ The anchorman went on.

 _"But let's not forget those dark wizards before him,"_ the anchorwitch continued, _"like the Arthurian Witch, Morgan 'Morgana' le Fay,"_ a beautiful witch with a flowing pink robe, _"Avalaran legend Zeref the Black Cloud,"_ a very handsome mage with black hair and robe, looked in his teenage years, _"as well as more recent rises to stardom, the Devil Reincarnate Ganondorf Dragmire, and the elusive mysterious Man With the Red-"_

"Wendy Dear, come on." Carla returned and took Wendy by the arm, pulling her along.

Facilier was at a shop called Ollivanders, speaking to an ancient white-haired man through the window. "Soooo Mr. Ollivander, I was wondering if there was any progress in, ah, procuring that _wand_."

"Mr. Facilier, what do you expect me to do, just call the King of Fairies and request the Fairy Princess's Fairy's Tail? I can make you the best on the market, but whoever expected me to procure a wand of that importance and _fortitude_ must be WAY off their noggin! Surely a Pony's Tail, or an Angel Feather, or—goodness, a _Minish Acre Piece_ , but you CAN'T expect me to persuade those blasted fairies to give some _student wizard_ their most prized POSSESSION!"

"Look, if it were up to me, I woulda asked for something simple, but this ain't me, it's her _father_ , but HE can't appear in public, so I gotta do everything for him!" Facilier rambled on as Wendy and Carla caught up.

"Siiigh… I'll keep trying, I really will, but let it be known I have quite a few words to say to her 'father'. Cod, blasted-. ." He shut the window and stormed inside.

Wendy felt guilty after overhearing that, following Facilier further with her head down. "Mr. Facilier, you don't have to get me a good wand. Any old thing would do, really."

"That's very sweet o' you, but I can't say no to this guy. Still, you have to learn magic at some point, the question is where to start. Lessee if anyone in the pub knows any good teachers."

They entered a bar called the Leaky Cauldron, which reeked of a smell Wendy only assumed was magic alcohol. Very dingy and rugged inside where many thugs were guzzling drinks and talking. "Ah'll only be a minute." Facilier said, approaching the barman at the counter. "Bonjour, Tom!"

"Dr. Facilier! How long it's been, I say—thank you again for the hair." He felt his head of smooth brown hair. "What can I get you?"

"See that girl over there? She's a kid I'm lookin' after for a friend o' mine, and, short version is, we're lookin' for a.."

Wendy and Carla walked around while Facilier spoke, exploring the bar, though there wasn't much. She noticed a large book on an abandoned table. Curious, she walked over and picked it up. It was _History of Benders_ , Volume 1. Wendy cracked it open to view the Table of Contents. Chapters such as "Decision of the Gods", "The Avatar/Negatar", "Fall of Arceus", and others were listed. Wendy skimmed them for perhaps anything on airbending – then found a chapter called "Logia Bending", Section 1 "The First Logia".

Wendy flipped over to that page and skimmed. "'Logia is a high level of bending where the bender's Personal Chi has molded perfectly with the Natural Chi, granting them the illusion to transform into their element. The term was coined by the first bender to achieve this level, Acnologia, a mage who possessed—'"

"Hey, that's mine!" A boy with purple-black hair and blue eyes, wearing a dark-red vest that exposed his chest, took the book. He looked about 12. "Are you a bender or something?"

"S-Sorry. My name's Wendy—yes, I'm an Air Mage."

"A mage, too? Cool! Name's Romeo. I bend fire." He lit his right hand with a violet flame. "I use my magic to give it all sorts of colors and effects; I can freeze," shot blue fire to freeze a table, "stick," his purple fire was thrown on a man's shoulder, who panicked to get it off, "and stink." His flame turned yellow, forcing Wendy and Carla to shield their noses before he turned back. "Trying to develop other colors."

"That's amazing! Are you going to Hogwarts next year?"

"Yeah! I'm actually my 2nd year. If you want, I can teach-"

"Time to go, Wendy!" Facilier returned and grabbed the child's hand. "We're goin' to Orchid Bay, Tom coined us the perfect teacher!"

"I-I'll see you later, Romeo." Wendy told him hurriedly.

"Okay. Take care!"

With that, the team of five were strolling down Diagon. Disappointed that she couldn't finish that sentence, Wendy spoke, "Mr. Facilier, I read that the first Logia was a mage. Do you think his magic helped him become what he is?"

"It does feel too coincidental. Yes, there is a very good chance his magic helped him better to become one with his element. By observing him, regular benders got the idea and found ways to do it themselves."

"But what was his element?"

"Hmmm… to be honest, I only heard of Acnologia, I don't remember what element he used." Wendy was even more disappointed she couldn't finish that sentence. "I would honestly guess shadow, if not maybe fire, or darkness or light—eh, I'm just spitballin'. Either way, our next priority is getting to Orchid Bay. I think the Knight Bus drives there on week days, I'll have to call and see. Well, we've about accomplished all we could here for now. Can you guess what we're about to do now?" Facilier asked with a sly grin. "Apparition!"

Wendy gulped. "Can't we just take the fireplace back?"

"Sorry, where we're going, Floo Powder don't get to. Sonny, Donna, refresh our minds on the dangers of Apparition!"

Sonny smiled and said, "When the mental or physical state in any of the passengers isn't totally stable-"

Donna continued, "-this could result in the loss of internal or external body parts."

"Otherwise known as SPLINCHING!" they cheered.

"Uuuuuuu-" Wendy shuddered and sweated nervously. She Apparated with Facilier before, the worst that happened was she lost one of her hairs. But it was still scary.

"Hhhhha ha ha. We'll be fine, though, Wends, ain't nothing Dittany can't fix. In here, everyone, don't want any extras goin' with us." Facilier gestured them to an empty alley.

"It'll be okay, Child, just don't think about it." Carla told her comfortingly. Wendy nodded and calmed down, holding Facilier's arm tightly.

"Let's SPLORP!" The twins glomped Wendy against Facilier, and Carla hugged the witch-doctor's neck before they zipped into thin air. The dimensions spiraled around them with the sensation of being squeezed in a tight rubber tube. Wendy shut her eyes and prayed for it to be over, she thought she might suffocate in this dimension, was afraid of losing a leg and wondering if she already had, an Apparition was roughly 5 seconds long, but it feels forever.

She felt her feet hit solid, though soft soil, and breath filled her lungs. Wendy opened her eyes to find them in a peaceful forest. "See, Wendy, nothing went wrong." Carla smiled.

"WAAAAH! CARLA, YOUR TAIL'S MISSING!" Donna screamed.

"AAAAAAHH!" the cat panicked, feeling behind her. "Put it back! PUT IT BACK!"

"Just kidding!" The twins hugged. Carla snarled at them.

"Where are we, Mr. Facilier?" Wendy asked with wonder in her eyes. "Did you take us to an enchanted forest? Are we gonna learn how to ride unicorns, or catch fairies, or; or find special herbs for powerful potions? ?"

"No, it's just the Black Forest in Germany. I come here to set trees on fire when I'm angry. We're just here to practice."

"Oh. Well, that's okay!"

Facilier directed Wendy to face a road of trees and bushes. "Now you've been practicing that move I've been tellin' you about, right?"

"Y-You mean that… one?"

"Yah. Show it to me."

Wendy faced determinedly at the set path. She inhaled for nearly 10 seconds, creating a makeshift vacuum in the air, some birds almost flew in, they wondered just how large Wendy's lungs were. Then, she unleashed it all in the form of a powerful cyclone, blowing the small shrubs and twigs miles away, the trees were bending over, lost many leaves, it was like a storm appeared in this one area. Wendy eventually stopped to catch breath. "Excellent, girl." Facilier patted her back. "You make the inventors of the Cyclone Roar proud."

"Eh he. Actually, I've been calling it the Sky Dragon Roar all this time."

"Sky Dragon Roar?"

"That's what they're calling me in the wanted posters, I-I thought it had a nice ring to it. If it bothers you, I'll call it the Cyclone Roar if you want…"

"…That is… a way cooler name." Harvey replied honestly. "Seriously, I'm gonna have to call the authors of the book and have them rename it."

"Y-You don't have to go THAT far!" Wendy flushed. "It mostly feels right for _me_ , is what I'm saying."

"Yeah, but seeing you use it, I dunno, it's like that move was created for you."

Wendy looked away sheepishly, twisting a foot against the soil. "It's nothing special… but, what I really wanna do is start learning magic. I already know plenty of airbending, I'm just wondering…"

"Well, legally students can't use magic until they're officially enrolled, and even then, they can't use it outside of school. Otherwise, they Track yo' ass to the ends of the Earth."

"Oh…" Wendy frowned with disappointment. She was really hoping to learn magic soon.

Facilier smirked, squatting down to put an arm around Wendy. "You're talking to a guy who's a _pro_ at getting around legalities. Which is why, when we're getting to Orchid Bay, I'm buying you a wand."

"You will? !" she beamed. "I-Is it that one you wanted from that store?"

"Hah ha, if only Orchid Bay _did_ sell that wand. Naw, but we'll getchu any kind you want! Mermaid's Heel, Genie's Ring, Hippogriff's Humility, if you think it's fashionable, the money's on me."

"I'm so excited, I can't wait! !"

"Easy girl, Chi-Stabilizers may not hold against emotional states! Now, let's keep tryin' that move. When I send this Fiendfyre at you, you have to use your Sky Dragon Roar to block it. Are you ready, Wendy?"

"Go for it!"

"Okay." Facilier pulled out a small box. "Here it COMES!" The box popped open, out came a massive serpent with a skull's head, made entirely of fire as it flew into the sky, setting trees aflame. It redirected and flew directly at the group, its boney fangs open.

Wendy sucked in a great breath of air and released. _"Sky Dragon ROOOOAAAAR!"_

 **Gumdrop Cove**

The sun began setting by the time Augustus arrived, the stronghold where all Candy Pirates could come and be sugary in peace: Gumdrop Cove, a tremendous orange-brown island named for the fact it looked like a smashed piece of gum underneath a school desk. "Ahh, I love the smell of Hershey's in the air." Augustus smiled. "They never set 'em up like these anymore. But ever since Captain Black Chocolate Bart coined this cove, it's become a helluva-" Cannonfire roared, Augustus swerved his plane to avoid the giant jawbreakers. "Ho ho! Here's the welcome wagon! We're going doooown!"

"Whoooooooaaaa!" Rallo and Stewie cried as the plane dove for the island like a kamikaze, narrowly dodging all cannons. Augustus whipped around, breezing the sailors with wind caused by the force, and landed his plane along the shore between parked ships. Augustus exuberantly hopped out. "Hoist the Fruit Roll-Ups, mi amigos, your favorite captain has returned!"

"ARR-HAAAARRRRR ( _Gustaaaaaahhhh!_ )!" The pirates cheered for him.

"Oogooshtush, ye bootee-grubbuh." A fat, short pirate with a blue coat, white pants, black boot and peg-leg, and a squishy green beard of jelly, and pink Jell-O gums, marched forward. "Where've ye got'n yer sorry soul this aour?"

"Gelatin Gerald." Augustus greeted the captain of the Jelly Pirates with a cool smirk, dropping his dry lollipop. "Long time, no see. Still obsessed with that 'Jelly Planet' dream?"

"Dun't mock what ya don't know, boy. They say iss a drim, but I knows it: out thar in them stars be Jellatonia, a planet made o' the sweet soliquid. Ar'll round me up a space-pirate vessel, 'n' bring home to yer two galleons' worth. Mark me wards, I be a half-Jellien, dropped here on this wreshed rock, and I'll be the king o' all o' 'em."

"Hmm. Well, I'll be waiting for that from beyond my grave."

"Yer mouth not be weighed down with gelatin substancsh, ya make unwise use o' it. Iffin' yer really got ta right ta be usin' such, a swear-off be what we need. Go 'n, boy. Curse me with yer most jigglin' of carses."

Augustus started a new lolli. "You go first."

"Yer end's spelled now, boy. Arr-har-hrm: Ya are… a big-buckled, lolli-lickin', self-cod."

 _"Ooooooo!"_ moaned the watching pirates.

Augustus smirked. "You're a… jiggle-boned, celery-brained, _graso_."

"Aaaaaarrrr!"

"NOE cursin' in yer native tongue, boiii! Arr-harm: you are… a puff-chested, wrinkle-faced, _retirement home resident_."

"Oooh-HOOOOOOOH!"

"You're a… dung-grubbing, urine-bathing, toilet-kisser."

"OH NO HE DIDNNNNN'T."

"Yar ee… forest-earred, flat-buttocked, oxygen-addict."

"Ahhhh-haaaaaa."

"You're a… salt-cowering, heat-detesting, lard-lover."

"Aye? Well yer… a fan-haired, bottle-sucking, self-wettin', half-devoured, hind-kissing, piece of landlubber trash that nary his birthers wanted ta deal with."

 _"OOOOOOOHH! !"_

Augustus wasn't phased. "You're: a soulless, grammatically-inaccurate, culturally-ignorant, hopeless-dreaming, envious, pathetic ball of slop that has to feel glorious through means of swear-offs."

"Arr… that's below the belt. ARRR, ya win this time, ya wretched wretch of a… wretchen! Arrr, _blubber blubber…"_ he cursed as he stomped away.

"'ey, Gustah." An eyepatch pirate with a big brown beard around his big mouth held a wanted poster with his hook hand. He spoke with a hoarse throat. "Yoh' still wanted foe yoe _allianceship_ with the _Big Moms_. 500,000 Chocolate Dollars foor yor _head_."

"Only because I'm too sexy. …Which actually hurts saying it out loud, seeing as Grandma was worth 46 million. But you all aren't gonna tattle, are ya?"

"Big Mom made the seas _hurrrrrt_ ful to us. Almost bad as _Davy Jones_ , or those crocodiles up in Mermaid Swamp. Blamey. If you have reason not to be _ousted, let it sound."_ His weak voice grew more high by the word.

"You know I never come here without reason. And lo and behold:" Stewie brought the half-gallons on his captain's instruction, "Everbubble Fizz!"

"Yoo got that?" A skinny, dark-skinned pirate asked. "You trekked the Peztecs?"

"I trekked them." Augustus said proudly. "Now where's Bubbly Brandon? In the Soda Can again?"

"He's up there, a'ight. Why ya businen' with him, again. That soda be rightfully yers and those little wee ninnies. Keep that old coot with his average brew."

"I would." Augustus and the babies walked off. "But he has business with _me_."

Sugary pirates with hairy bodies and miscellaneous amputations-replaced-with-candy tramped everywhere, up and down every stair and across hundreds of wooden walkways to every building dedicated to a specific brand of candy. The Smarties Corner for all them sea-sugar nerds, the Kisses Booth for swabbies in love, the Scarlet Licorice to view all them sexy lady pirates, the Jawbreakers-Plus-Other-Disposable-Parts for anyone wantin' to get tough, or everyone's favorite pub, the Soda Can, whose double, saloon-like doors Augustus pushed open. The floor was always sticky and brown, the sound of spurting soda from shooken-up cans was almost 24/7, and 'twas truly the corner to raise one's blood-sugar levels.

Augustus approached a skinny man in a red coat and an everlasting goatee and mustache of light-brown bubbles. He saw the boy coming and plopped down the pitcher of soda. "OOOOOhhh Augustus. You've actually gone and did it."

"Aye-aye, Brandon." Augustus placed the half-gallons of Everbubble on the table. "The most nerve-shaking soda out there. Even the stuff at the Coffee Drilling Rig doesn't compare."

"Hoh-hoh. Too great a soda to just guzzle down in one gulp. I'll just take…"

Augustus clamped his hand over a half-gallon and pulled it over. "The Marzipans need their share of the sodium, too. My grandpa's in the Soda Control Board."

"You're seeking to bedevil your blood-sugar. That sodium was too powerful for the Peztecs, YOUR bones will never hold right."

Augustus cocked an eye over a sunglass, showing Brandon its sky-blue color as he tipped the glass to his mouth. "This soda needs to talk to every lady these lips've been in contact with. Then they'll know, it's impossible not to settle down. …" He was inches from slurping it.

"Settle down, boy! You're an air-lubber I'm fond of, I don't want the worst to happen to ya."

"Then gimme the best." He plopped the soda down again. "You said you knew a guy where I can get the best-quality Corn-Clamber Boots. I'm heading up Buttermilk Building and no other material can stand its slipperiness. So choke up or I'll drink you dry."

"Okay, okay. A fellow of mine up in Mountain of Flavors, Greenland, makes the best hiking gear. His name's Ricardo, but please, don't go up there, lad. I heard that…that man's goons have been lurking up there. The most terrifying candy hunter who's not even a pirate, but he's a demon among them. Lord Licorice."

"Pfft, that old fart? Scare me with the Boogeyman."

"I'm serious, Augustus. The most generous thing Licorice ever did was let Hasbro use his likeness in that _crappy_ board game. Little twerps like you are getting the wrong idea because of it, Lord Licorice is a monster. He seeks rare candy just to mock it, or _muck_ it. He kills any soul who takes delight in any sweet but his own. He's-"

"Black John Licorice's younger brother, he already told me this stuff. And if I could stand _his_ company, Lord Tyrone Joshua Licorice doesn't scare me one bit."

Brandon sighed and shook his head. "What do you want me to do, Son. Send a letter to my man on Flavor Mountain to ready a pair to send ya to your death? My immortal soul is too precious to risk."

" _Your_ soul isn't the one being risked. But mine will hurt unless I climb Buttermilk Building and taste its everlasting sanctuary. And then I'll… I might finally have a good ingredient…"

"Yes, you will have a perfect ingredient… to your death. Very well, I'll send Ricardo the message you're coming. But I'm not attending your funeral."

"Man, you're so negative. If I come back alive, pep up a little."

"Don't get agro at me because you have no cheerleaders."

Augustus left the bar and trekked down wooden stairs to a lower part of town. "Come awn, man, don't make us go up against Lord Licorice!" Rallo cried frantically. "I played Candy Land, that guy is messed up! Kidnappin' King Kandy, ruining Gramma Nutt's garden, and what's with forcing little kids to eat licorice? Plus, whaddyou think happened to Plumpy, the last of the Plumpa Trolls? He killed him, that's what! That's genocide! I don't wanna have ta deal with that!"

"Besides, we have a plane, why the hell do we need climbing boots?" Stewie asked.

"Because even the air around Buttermilk is strange. The cream evaporates into little particles that seep inside of engines and makes everything slip apart. Too risky. And we couldn't even land anywhere that isn't slippery."

"If Ah get cream all up in mah afro, you're paying for my barber, Chocolate Coin Boy." Rallo frumped.

"Mw-mw."

"See, Mags knows what I'm gettin' at."

"The sun's going down… We'll rent us a room at the Cup of Cocoa and get rest. It's fair to worn you, you kids might be sharing a bed."

"Employ this one at Child Services." Stewie remarked.

"Speaking of which, though…" Augustus led the children back to the _Ace Flyer_ , pulling wrapped blankets out of the trunk. "I need my crew at its best, so it's time for you to eat." He unwrapped the blankets to reveal boxes of fruit and sandwiches. "Dinner is served."

"Why the healthy provisions all of a sudden?" Rallo asked. "They's candy in these fruit?"

"No, it's honest-to-good food. I'd chow on candy 'til bedtime, but it's no good for toddlers, and as your captain, I'm basically your babysitter. Especially since you're unaging brats, so eat up."

Stewie took a sandwich, Rallo took a banana, and Maggie had apple juice. "Well, not the _worst_ Child Services." the former remarked again. "You should eat, too."

"Nah." Augustus sat on the plane, dropping his dried lolli. "I survived this long in Big Mom's crew; and a forceful cleaning from Knightbrace, I don't need this stuff."

"Mw-mw." The teenager looked down at Maggie. Her hazel eyes were wide and pretty as she held an orange to Augustus.

He smiled warmly. "That means a lot, Mags, but I'll be-"

 _Cock._ "Mw-mw." Augustus looked nervously. Maggie narrowed her eyes as she aimed a gun at his head. Augustus slowly reached down, took the orange, and munched the first bite, chewing slowly. He swallowed through the saliva clogged in his throat, due to his nervousness, and munched the next bite.

 **Negaverse; DNK Moonbase** (Patrick Stewart, if you would do the honors?)

Gladly, Gamewizard. When we last saw all our friends in the Posiverse, Supreme Leader Cheren had abruptly revealed the coming of the Apocalypse just 3 days beforehand, and now everyone is scrambling to find twenty unnamed Keys and do whatever sort of self-realizing journey God has put them on. Down in the Negaverse, however, Supreme Leader Nerehc revealed the Apocalypse four months ago. Now as either world has only one month to prepare for this cataclysm, you can surmise how serious everyone must be taking it. The Negatives, actually, are treating it quite casually. It was only a month before when the danger of the DNKG was abolished, and the skies of Nega-Land are filled with light. Things have never been happier, so why should anyone worry.

Even Nerehc himself seems more lazy than usual, in his office on Moonbase. The paperwork was stacked and "filled"; so he claims, so now he was taking it easy, kicked back with his feet on the desk. He even had a strand of grass in his mouth, he wondered what was so cool about people having these. …It wasn't bad. He sat up quick when his door opened, spitting the grass out as Ininap and Sicnarf walked in. "So um, Nerehc, summer is just around the corner, and based on your info, the Apocalypse should be happening by then, so… what're we gonna do about it?" Sicnarf asked.

"Beats me."

"B-But we can't just _sit_ here and let it happen." Ininap stuttered.

"Well, I don't know what to do, according to Smiley or whatever he's called, the Positives are gonna be doing most of the work. The Seven Lights and Thirteen Darknesses are in their world, so…"

"Yeah, but wasn't the point of Meet Your Match Day back then to have both sides get to know each other?" Sicnarf questioned. "That way, we can fight together and have a better chance at winning."

"Maybe, but we never got around to planning another Match Day, because Cheren's crew is always busy. Makes sense. It's kinda been hard for us too, considering a lot of our operatives were traitors."

"But they've been better after Innus returned them to their normal sizes, haven't they?" Ininap asked.

"It isn't just them, the DNKG members and all their allies, they're still pretty sour. The Nimbi and the merkids are still fighting, we've still got scuffles with the Hsinim, even with this Apocalypse in mind, we can't convince them to get along. That's our real priority at the moment."

"Wouldn't it be better to just forget the DNKG kids?" Sicnarf replied. "They've been total psychos since going to Galactic Juvy. It's too risky to even let them meet their Positives."

"True, but we know _some_ people that might help." Ininap informed with a nervous grin. "Remember our cousin, Ayamik and her friends?"

"I thought about it, but they're too classy. They wouldn't agree to it."

"If they did, would they be able to help?" Nerehc wondered.

"Depends on who can stand the other's company."

"You got me hooked." Nerehc stood up. "Take me to your cousin's house, I wanna see what's so 'classy' about them."

"If you want to." Sicnarf shrugged. "I should warn you about our aunt, Imak. And why we never invite her to Ingratefultaking dinner."

"Can't be any worse than Aluben."

 **Yltraeh Household**

Sicnarf and Ininap kept a safe distance while Nerehc knocked on the door. A blonde-haired woman with cold green eyes, a ragged tank-top, and black shorts swung open the door, knocking Nerehc back. "The fuck do you want?" Imak Yltraeh (een Yksvolird) shouted, munching on a taco.

Nerehc rubbed the bruise on his forehead and sat up. "Hi, Mrs. Yltraeh. Is your daughter home?"

"Wut, comin' to join her prissy tea party? Yea', she's upstairs, what're you expecting a welcome party?"

"N-N-N-No, Ma'am." Ininap shrunk.

"May we come in, please." Nerehc asked with mock-politeness.

"Ain't no one stoppin' you, indoors is pretty much outdoors in this house. Just don't touch anything in mah fridge." The bad-odored woman stepped aside so the three could enter the messy, uncared-for house, going up stairs that creaked with each step. "AYAMIK, your shitty cousins are here with some NERD kid!"

Ayamik's room was quite the opposite. "That's fine, Mother." The daughter had blonde hair in seven curls, very pale with powder, and she wore an elegant white dress as she cooled her face with a fan. Her associates, Oelak Nosredna, and the siblings, Pat and Flow, wore their own fancy attire, too fancy for description at the moment, and all sat at a curtained table to drink tea in this heavily polished room of gorgeous china and posters depicting famous opera stars.

"Ah we really allowing company up here?" Oelak asked; his teeth looked a little large for his mouth, so he talked funny.

"It's such a cabbage patch here otherwise, what harm would guests do."

"Um… hello?" Nerehc peeked into the door.

"They harm us by beginning their sentences with filler." Flow replied, sipping her tea.

 _"Yeah, classy's an understatement…"_ Nerehc mumbled, walking in with Sicnarf and Inap behind him. "You must be Ayamik. Are these your friends?"

"'Friend' is merely a layman's term for associate, which people make use of far too casually." Ayamik replied. "We prefer to think of ourselves as such so as to distinguish ourselves from ruffians."

"Well, your cousins tell me you're actually experts in dealing with, um, 'ne'er-do-wells', making them more calm and civilized and, such."

"We're accredited for it, true." Pat replied. "However, never is it enjoyable, those fools in detention are such lunatics. Yet, the school insists on troubling us with their conflict because they need more diligent workers."

"Your work helps though, right?"

"From time to time." Flow replied. "Ydnas and Noel could serve as reference."

"In that case, I would like your help with some, if you would. I don't know if you know about the DNKG, but there's a group of alien kids in Galactic Juvy."

"You wish us to be involved with extraterrestrial miscreants?" Pat questioned.

" _Hahdleeeh_." droned Ayamik. "The last thing we desire is juvenile court. Let alone garblish-speaking crooks. Why would you desire them in society?"

"For personal, selfish reasons you won't care about. The reason I'm asking is because I'm not good at therapy, but I really want to help those guys. You four don't really have to, I'm just saying it may be in your best interest. So will you or not?"

"If you are to insist upon us, sure." Oelak replied. "What say you, chaps?"

 _"Aye."_ They chorused.

"Then the motion is carried. Where ah these acclaimed miscreants?"

"In Aixalag, a galaxy far far away." Nerehc answered. "We'll go up to Moonbase and take one of the S.U.B.-L.O.O.C.s. Ever since the DNKG thing, I thought we might have to go there again, that's why I asked Cheren for those Warpdrive Keys."

"Miscellaneous information that does not interest us." Flow informed.

"I know, I was saying it to them." He gestured at Inap and Sicnarf.

"Your response was to Oelak's question, was it not?" Pat asked. "You cannot so suddenly shift conversations."

 _"Heck, they'll break the aliens out of their madness just by drivin' 'em crazy."_ Nerehc remarked lowly.

"At least make this trip more enjoyable by negating to mumble." Flow commented.

The seven kids glanced at Imak guzzling the cereal, Crumb-O's in the kitchen while they casually left the house. "If it interests you, Mother, we are going into non- or semi-oxygen now, we do not expect dinner from you." Ayamik told her.

Ininap, who was the last to leave, frantically shut the door before Imak threw a chair. "Damn brats, go fall in a gopher hole."

 **Aixalag; Planet Noreciv**

After acquiring a S.U.B.-L.O.O.C., the kids used the Warpdrive to fly to Aixalag in minutes, and were currently approaching a planet of green and yellow landscape. "According to Emorej, this is where Galactic Juvy is stationed, on Noreciv. Incidentally, the main reason they built it is because of the DNKG. He said it was around this region, so let's check."

"Another planet, how shrew." Ayamik waved the fan at her neck. "I feel the atmosphere of these beasts infiltrating my lungs already."

"Not gonna argue there." Nerehc replied. "Can't imagine a kid prison looks pretty. Even on our terms."

Although the sky was yellow, the surface was beautiful, with lush green alien plants growing everywhere. Butterflies, bumblebees, every vicious and gentle animal frolicked. An ocean yellow like lemon candy stretched over the distance. The kids landed a short distance away from a small, white building that looked like a preschool. The colorful sign outside read _Galactic Juvy_. "Population 12." Nerehc commented.

"This place looks delightful." Ininap grinned, shuddering at the thought of meeting mean, scary kids. "Maybe the DNKG kids are already better."

Nerehc walked up the flat stone path to the front door. He knocked gently, and a pretty, obese woman with long brown hair, a blue dress with white polka-dots, and legs going into black high-heels, greeted them with a grin that rivaled the sun. "Hello, dears! I'm Miss Ahtaga Llubhcnurt, the warden here at Galactic Juvy. Are you here to visit the students?"

Nerehc, Inap, and Sicnarf looked weirdly at one-another. "Um, kind of… we wanted, um, to know if, we could help with, some of the students?" Sicnarf was at a loss while wording that sentence as he still couldn't comprehend the bright and cheerfulness of the outside.

"A sentence should _not_ have that many intermissions." Oelak had to point out.

"If you would like to help teach, then sure." Miss Llubhcnurt grinned brightly. "Why don't you come in, dears?"

The inside of the small building was merely a lobby, with waiting chairs and a receptionist desk, in which Miss Llubhcnurt led them to an elevator on its right. "I'll take you down one floor as a start. It's suppertime for our friends, so make sure to share your food nicely! And don't get your clothes stuck in the door, dears." The eight of them squeezed onto the lift before the door closed and they rolled down. "And here we are. Hellooooo, everyone! We have guests!"

Prison cells were lined up all along the hallway, each containing an alien child aggressively eating the fine food that passed for supper. One of the aliens looked at them. "Look, it's Nerehc! ! The one who beat Aluben! !" Incomprehensible shouts and roars rang all throughout the halls as each former DNKG agent desperately tried to break through their barrier.

"Looks like I'm an intergalactic hero." the boy in question noticed.

"Oh my, you seem very popular among these dears!" Llubhcnurt perked up. "I hope we won't have to line up for autographs. Hoh hoh hoh! I'm afraid I should tell you, the students usually do cleanup work in the kitchens on Yadsruht, so if you wanted to help teach any of them, may it only be a few."

"That's okay. There's four in particular we at least wanna see. Can you help us find them? They are…" Nerehc proceeded naming them.

"Why, of course, dearie! I'll take you over to the Quiet Room and have them brought out shortly."

The Quiet Room was, to say the least, quiet, keeping all the shouting outside as muffles. There were actually five different sub-rooms around the wall, Ayamik, Oelak, Pat, and Flow were led into four specific ones. After a while, scary alien guards brought the four chosen DNKG kids in through alternate doorways of the rooms, so either couple was separated by glass. Ayamik got Avakam, Oelak got Atnort, Pat got Annaira, and Flow got Beewv. Each former operative wore a blank, gloomy expression, though murderous intent for Nerehc in the background was clear in their eyes. "Um… good luck, you guys." Nerehc told them before he and his friends shut each door.

"So… you're my therapist, huh." Avakam said to her aid.

"I'll have you know that I partake no interest in associating with the likes of scoundrels as yourselves." Ayamik stated. "But it seems that I am obliged to by this stranger. So let us cut to the chase, if we may, if you were to be set free right now, what would be your course of action?"

"Grab the closest gun and shoot Nerehc in the head."

"I do not argue with your decision, but I doubt they will find it acceptable. So entertain me with what you consider your backstory."

"What backstory. My mom was a Nairuomolg, Dad was a Naineetak, but I was born on Mom's planet to learn how to hunt and shoot things. She says I can't shoot my brother, though, 'cause we'll have nothing to eat in case the Apocalypse comes. Ultimately, we live on that godforsaken ice planet, Occes, where we had little food in our puny log cabin. Then Aluben shows up, wants us to be part of her empire, I'm like 'Sure, 'long as I get away from this place.'"

"How great is your interest in hunting?"

"Very great. I like to rob creatures of life to show them life is cruel. I never like to give them the chance to look back on their decisions. They enter the afterlife as they are."

"Yes, well Lord permit you to enjoy your own meager existence." Ayamik applied lipstick to her mouth area.

"What does that mean?"

"Clearly, your skin is not naturally developed for the temperatures of an ice planet, but your parents were either poor or lazy with money, so they wished for such a living quarters. You feel distaste for all the animals and creatures who have adapted so well, your only solace is their demise. Each bullet you fire is but an inch of your accumulated spite and suffering."

Avakam laughed hysterically, "Hyou are not even CLOSE, because I am not-"

"-CUTE! I AM NOT CUTE!" Beewv screamed at Flow in their own room. "That's what I keep tellin' them, but apparently there's something adorable about the only white Naineetak in existence. And you know what I said, I said I'll learn swordplay too! And I'll CUT you all up!" He made the gesture of jabbing a sword. "I'll cut you up so hard, you'll not even SEE it! Same for all those DNKG jerks, too, I'mma chop them ALL up! THEN you'll see why you should never underestimate—"

 ** _We had technical errors while our voice actor was trying to pronounce Beewv's full name, so this scene was edited. We apologize for the inconvenience._**

"You make your personal grief vividly clear." Flow said. "All I can configure is you're a nutcase. If it's any consolation, I don't find you the least bit adorable."

"Yeah, but I'm STILL sick of Miss Peppy-dress's crap! I want my swords back so I can chop up her dress and everything underneath!"

"Repulsive…"

In Oelak and Atnort's room, the former had been digging around his mouth all this time. "There we ah." He pulled out a notepad and pen. "My apologies, but I must take notes if I am to make believe I am paying attention. Please, begin."

"I'm half-Nairapmup and half-Natinrah. My parents are of two different species, but Atinrah was swallowed in conflict and wars, it ended up destroying itself so the surviving population moved to Airapmup. So as you might expect, our planet is pretty *** crowded- Wait, why was that censored?"

 _"No cursing in the school, dearie!"_ Llubhcnurt sang through the intercom.

"Anyway, not that I can show you with these chi-blocks in place, I'm a lightningbender. I always have a need to burn off energy, which I COULDN'T without shocking anyone most of the time, yet I was supposed to let my sister bloodbend me for fun. So when Aluben let us join DNKG, she promised my own private planet to shock things. But it ain't go so well when NEREHC gave me Zapper Nation and botched up my chi-paths."

Oelak nodded solemnly and wrote things down. "Mmhm, mmhm, resent for Nerehc, urge, but forbidden to be a delinquent, inability to tolerate company of others… You ah an imbecile."

"Okay, that's it, LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU STUPID-! !" Atnort furiously banged on the glass.

 _"Remember our manners, dearie!"_

"Ghhhhhh!" Atnort really wanted to strangle somebody, but settled in his seat. "So how's things in _yer_ life." he said through gritted teeth.

Lastly, Pat was talking with Annaira, who slouched on her way in. "So what tale have you to delight me with." said Pat.

"What my brother is shouting about in there. We're from a crowded planet, so my only comfort is controlling animals. I hate animals. Very much so. They show dislike with us, too. So I like to play with them with bloodbending. I like to kill them from inside and eat their flesh. That's what real hunting is."

"Your parents must have been proud."

"If only. I was inherently born with good bloodbending, but my mother forbidded it. Never let me practice. Only the matriarch is allowed to control her kids. Atnort always ratted on me whenever I practiced. Aluben let me take lessons. I was her favorite. I…I _admired_ her…" Anna's eyes twitched. "Her parents let her do everything she wanted…" She clutched an invisible force. "She was going to make us respected… _feared_ … Then Nerehc took her from us… now we're nothing…" A high-pitch ringing was rising in her head, and only she could hear. "COME BACK TO ME, LORD ALUBEEEEEN!"

Pat was checking his frowning face in a mirror, ensuring his features were perfectly symmetrical. "Yes, females are 'lords' in this universe…"

 **Miss Llubhcnurt's Room**

"Doot, doot-doot dooooo, doo-bi-di-doo, doot, doot-doot, dooooo." The warden hummed merrily to herself in her resting quarters, which could easily be mistaken as a little girl's room. She was putting eyeliner on her lashes. "Oh, how I cannot wait for dinnertime! Those dears must be ever-so excited to show me their new kitchen. I hope those tutors finish with their four in time, I just don't like leaving anybody out. Now let's see- oh! My lipstick, of course!" She opened her drawer, took the red stick, and began rubbing it on her lips.

As she viewed her own progress in the dresser mirror, her image strangely wobbled. "Oooo, now that's funny. I didn't purchase one of those silly mirrors again, did I? Those things ALWAYS get me!" She stood up and grabbed both sides of the mirror to straighten it. "My, what an odd refraction. I'd almost say it's, wh-wh-whoa. WOOOOOOHHH!" She clumsily keeled forward and through the liquidated mirror.

 **Zordoom; Trunchbull's cell**

The discharged muscular principal washed her hands with gusto, splashing water onto her sweaty face before staring at her mirror. "Ahh, you put in a good effort today, Agatha, it's a shame those blowhards don't follow your example. Well, I'll whip 'em into shape one way or another. Prison's no different from school," she walked away, "and 'long as I'M around, they'll-"

"-WOOOOOH!" Ahtaga Llubhcnurt tumbled out of the mirror onto her back, startling Trunchbull. The imprisoned principal curiously stood over her, exchanging a strict, grouchy look with Ahtaga's bright smile. "Why, hello there! You look just like _meeeee_!"

"Who in bloody blazes are you?"

 **Galactic Juvy**

Ayamik's friends managed to talk to the DNKG agents for half an hour before they got bored. Nerehc stood up eagerly when they returned. "So what's the news?"

"They hate you." Ayamik replied.

"Indubitably." agreed Oelak.

"A great amount." Pat said.

"I don't see what's so special about small things." Flow commented.

"Well, we tried our best." Ininap shrugged. "There's no gettin' them on our side now."

Nerehc sighed. "I'm not giving up, yet. GUARDS, bring them all out here."

The stone, toad-like aliens in metal armor held the four juveniles by the arm (and Beewv in one's fingers) as they brought them before Nerehc. "I don't care why your love for DNKG was so great, or how or why you could respect Aluben. I don't care how much you hate me, because our universe is in danger. A cataclysm is coming, and we all have to work together to save everyone. Humans and aliens, Negatives and Positives, fighting each other isn't going to help that. So if I get your butts bailed out of here, can we at least focus on the bigger picture?"

The aliens exchanged glances with each other. Nerehc made a very valid point, a universe-wide cataclysm was something they'd like to avoid. …What a load of crap.

Avakam kicked away from her guard and swiped his electric gun, shocking him in the mouth before shooting the others to free her friends. They jumped Nerehc's crew as Atnort swiped the Devil's Sword, holding it to Nerehc's neck. "Let all the others out of their cells or I'M bending his blood!"

The guards exchanged worried glance- "NOW! !" A guard nodded at another before he ran down the hall to an emergency 'Recess' switch. The guard pulled, and alarms blared as every barrier disabled.

Former DNKGs and general juveniles trashed the facility, overpowering every guard who, apparently, wasn't trained for this kind of drill. Psychotic kids were stronger in numbers. Sicnarf punched Atnort away with Armament, then elbowed Annaira back, but the former still took Nerehc's Devil Sword and bolted. Nerehc tried to chase, but Beewv had gotten up his pants leg and started biting his skin, slowing the boy's progress as he jumped while trying to smack Beewv out.

Avakam swiped two more shock-guns from fallen guards and shot Sicnarf, who rolled and dodged before running at her. Ininap balled her fists to fight Annaira, but although the latter was chi-blocked, her punches easily bruised Ininap's baby skin, knocking the human down before picking her up by the neck. Sicnarf about-faced, forced to cease attacking when Anna threatened his sister, allowing Avakam to easily shock him in the back.

Nerehc managed to grab Beewv out and throw him against the wall, but storms of juvenile aliens piled on him. Nerehc punched, kicked, and bit to get away, Wall Jumping across the hallway to get over most of them, otherwise jumping across their heads. He saw the white glow of his sword drawing farther away in Atnort's hands. He stumbled and fell into the crowds, the followers of Aluben ragefully whaled on him, prevented him from standing. Nerehc reached his open hand and called, "GHIRAHIM!"

The diamond-skinned spirit appeared from the sword, punching Atnort in the gut before taking the blade back. "Master." He smirked, tossing the sword across the crowds so Nerehc could jump up and grab it. Ghirahim stood with him back-to-back as the aliens stepped away.

"End of the line, Ner-Ner." They whipped around to face Team Aluben, who held Sicnarf and Inap hostage as Avakam aimed a gun at the latter's shuddering, teeth-clattering head. "You destroyed our leader and got us thrown in here. We're officially taking over Juvy, and our first order of business is getting rid of you. After we kill your friend." She cocked the gun, and Ininap shut her eyes.

 _"EEEEEENOOOOOOOUUUUGH!"_ This thundering roar was followed by a sudden quaking of the halls. This quake resulted from Agatha Trunchbull's herculean punch. "EVERYONE get back in their cells for a headcount or you're ALL being shoved someplace so dark, you'll BEG for the alien crows or whatever you bloody have to be able to fly by and land their droppings on you. **NOOOOOOOW! ! !"** Miss Llubhcnurt stood behind her, clapping giddily.

Avakam, Atnort, Annaira, and Beewv cowered behind Nerehc. "WE'LL BE GOOD! Please save us!" they chorused.

"Yes, your loyalty to Aluben lasts only as long as your fear." Nerehc eye-rolled.

"You are _truly_ outlandish." a voice said beside Trunchbull.

"Ex-CUSE MEEEE? ?" she screamed directly at Ayamik, whom wasn't phased at all while waving the fan at her powdered face.

"The only possible excuse for your behavior is you were born supernaturally large and old, ergo your premature instincts allow you to become the 'big bully' of the playground, not that your intelligence is anything to celebrate."

One expected Trunchbull to rebuttal. Her mouth opened, she raised her index finger, but she stopped herself. "Hmph… I like this girl." she said to Llubhcnurt. "You should find more of them. Congratulations, you're officially Miss Trunchbull's Number One." She smacked Ayamik's back forcefully. "Now everyone report to the kitchen for cleaning or we'll be using your misc. alien limbs as scrubbing utensils."

As everything inside was settling down thanks to the school's new co-warden, Miss Llubhcnurt was seeing their guests and the four students off. "Thank you all for coming, and for helping our students. We'll truly miss these four, but we hope you come back to visit."

"We probly won't miss this place." Atnort remarked.

"Thanks for letting us in, Miss Llub." Nerehc said. "You'll give Ayamik's friends those coordinates to Earth in case they wanna come back, right?"

"Why, of course I will. I must say, this woman is _such_ a delight! Already 10 minutes and we feel like long-lost twins."

 _"HURRY UP, you silly wannabe backwards version of myself or I'm feeding this steamed broccoli to those Iceans."_

"Oops, that's my call!" Llubhcnurt flushed. "You four behave, now. Toodle-ooooooo!" She wiggled her fingers joyfully as the operatives returned to the ship.

The S.U.B.-L.O.O.C. was leaving Noreciv's atmosphere with the four new passengers handcuffed in the back. "So recap us where from the universe this 'cataclysm' idea came from?" Beewv inferred.

"I guess your spies never got the chance to tell you." Nerehc figured. "I'll explain on the way, and we'll let you hang out on Earth until you're, how we say, 'rehabilitated'."

"You can't really expect us to play along too well." Annaira stated. "Even after all your talk of peace, you killed our leader."

"…Aluben's not dead. She's alive in the Underworld, I requested it."

"She's… alive?" Avakam asked, confused.

"Mm-hm. And if you behave, maybe I'll take you to see her."

 **Dnaleci; Gnik Household**

Ragaj Gnik sat alone in his basement. It was so dark, you couldn't even see his face. Just hours ago, he had lit the green light for his allies, Team Gnik, to begin their journey. Meanwhile, he would be tending to his own tasks. _"Egroeg! AlyakAm!"_

His son and daughter came down the basement stairs. "Yes, Father. What is it?" Egroeg asked tonelessly.

 _"The doomsday we have known was coming is upon us. But I am still a long time away. I have yet to make ready for my master's arrival. That is why… I want you to go to the Posiverse."_ Ragaj trembled with fury, but his tone remained moderate. _"A precious item was stolen from me! It was stolen by my Positive! I want you to get it back…"_

* * *

 **Because Wendy needs her Romeo-kun! ^D^ So yeah, you could also consider this a sub-sequel for _Down in the Negaverse_ , I was querying how I wanted to make their chapters, I figure I'll do them like _Negaverse_ in the form of quick-resolved shorts. I mean, it kind of worked out back then. Next time, we'll go to Orchid Bay, and Gustah we'll go after Corn-Clamber Boots. And stuff. ;P**


	3. The Veiled City

**Welcome back, today, the _Side Stories_ will see its first major crossover (excluding the obvious mix of _Fairy Tail_ and _Harry Potter_ )! (This takes place during Chapter 8 of _Lights_.)**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 3: The Veiled City_**

 **Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

Facilier put out the candles to his shop. He hung the 'Closed' sign on his door. A group of disappointed children were moaning outside. "But WHY are you closing the shop earlyyyyy?" a boy whined.

"Sorry, kids, but Uncle Facilier's short on supplies, he's goin' away someplace to collect more." He told them honestly. "Y'all can last without magic for a day, can'tcha?"

"You'll be back tomorrow night, right Mr. Facilier?" a 5-year-old girl with a teddybear asked.

The Shadow Man bent down and patted her hair. "I promise, Little Suzy." He pecked some magic on her toy. The teddybear lovingly hugged Suzy's chest. "Ah right, see ya later, kids." He waved the lot good-bye. "Uncle Faci needs some shuteye." He went inside.

Wendy and Carla finished stocking items as the blue-haired child spoke with a smile, "Mister Facilier, were you always this popular with kids?"

"Well, not all the time, Wendy, there was a time when I was mixed in with some demons."

"Demons?" Carla questioned.

"Where do you think most of this junk comes from? New Jersey? Granted, I have an age limit based on my items. Anyway, y'all should get some shuteye. I called us a Knight Bus to drive us to Orchid Bay; you can try to sleep there, but you'll also wanna refresh for the ride."

Facilier cracked open a hatch on the ceiling, letting a ladder come down. Carla flew up while Wendy climbed. In the small, cramped bedroom, Sonny and Donna were sharing a bed without complaint, while Wendy took off her sandals to settle in her bed. She looked up when a slim woman in a black coat walked across the room. "Oh, hello, um, Mrs. Facilier!" Wendy greeted her bubbly.

Madame Rouge looked at her with a smug look. "Hello, Drunken Mistake." She blew smoke from her cigarette, making Wendy cough. She began climbing down the ladder.

"W-Where are you going?"

"I vas called for some business." she replied in her thick French accent. "Eet's grown-up stuff, Dear, do not bother." She closed the hatch on the way down.

Madame Rouge was about to leave the shop when Facilier touched her shoulder, sporting a cool smile. "Ahh, Laura, why're you so sour to Wendy? It's not like you see her much."

"It's just, vhen ve got married, I vas not planning to raise children. Now you insist on vatching these urchins so your benefactor vill protect your business."

"Laura, it ain't about the merchandise or the, ahem, semi-legal protection." Harvey put an arm around her shoulders. "Not saying I wanted to, but I never got to raise a child of my own. I watched mah friends do it, then their kids do it, and any generation, kids are so… wonderful. The most important part is, they learning from us. So I guess I feel a sense of pride… over having a student." He pulled away from her. "You can say you don't like kids, but if you had one that, I dunno, looked at you for guidance…"

"Hmph. The only child I helped to guide vas Nolan York." Rouge smirked. "And he is still calling me for favors. How silly." The woman casually left the shop. "I am going to rob a mansion for blueprints. Do not vait for me." She morphed into a raven and flew away.

Upstairs, Wendy changed into her pajamas and put her emerald patterned dress in the laundry basket. As she put the covers over herself in bed, she looked down at Carla on a mat on the floor. "Carla, why do you always sleep down there?"

"Intelligent as I am, I'm still a cat." She replied, her usual scowl not changing even as her eyes were closed. "Besides, there are few beds for most of us."

Wendy looked at Sonny and Donna, sleeping together. She smiled at her kitten. "Why don't we share?"

"Thanks for the offer, but you probably don't want fur or feathers on your bed. And I wouldn't want you to feel cramped."

"No, I won't mind, really. Come on, you look lonely down there."

Carla sighed to herself. It was a little uncomfy, and cold. …She wondered what a bed would feel like, albeit sharing a skimpy one with someone else. "All right." Carla fluttered up and onto Wendy's bed. The girl scooted over, allowed Carla under the covers, and put an arm over her like a stuffed animal. Wendy's back was touching the wall; there really wasn't much room for them. "Um… if my arm bothers you, I'll move it." Wendy spoke guiltily.

"Child, look at yourself, this is much too small. I may as well fall off."

"Um… l-let's do it this way." Wendy lifted Carla onto her chest, still under the blanket as she wrapped both arms around the kitten. "Is this comfortable?"

"Sigh…" Carla was disbelieved. "You're going to keep insisting I sleep in a bed, won't you? Oh well… I think I'm alright with this."

"Okay. You'll let me know if it's not, right?"

"Yes, yes. Good night, Wendy."

"Good night, Carla." Both of them made it to slumber eventually, despite the weight of Carla on Wendy's chest. Granted, it was harder to breathe or snore, but Wendy passed this off. Carla was certain of this unspoken inconvenience; in the three months Carla knew her, Wendy sure was insistent in places where she didn't need to be. Still… the girl's chest was comfier than the floor. She supposed it was the instinct of a cat to want to sleep by their master. Of course, Carla was too intelligent to have to follow such instinct, let alone call a little girl 'Master.' Yet… Carla was very fond of Wendy. She didn't understand the bond she felt with her; other than the aforementioned, simple bond between child and pet. Carla felt odd to describe it that way, but at the moment, she couldn't think of anyway else. She hoped to figure everything out one day. Where she came from… and where Wendy came from.

 **5:00 in the morning…**

After a couple hours, Carla ended up in a position where she sloped frontways down Wendy's belly, while said girl had her right arm dangling over the side. "Time to get UP!" Sonny and Donna leaped onto Wendy's bed, still in socks and pajamas, and stomped the girl's legs and chest, the force bouncing Carla off onto the floor.

"Honestly, you are going to give her sores if you keep that up!" Carla stated, rubbing her own head while Wendy rubbed her legs.

"Mr. Facilier says it's time to get up!" Sonny announced.

"The Knight Bus is here!" Donna jumped.

"Put on your BEST clothes!" they both cheered. With that, the twins leapt down the hatch.

Carla put on her signature red shirt and yellow skirt while Wendy fixed on a short-sleeve, bluish-purple shirt, white shorts, and sky-blue strap-on shoes. (Other characters could live with wearing the same clothes every day, Wendy was not one of those people.) "At least we won't have to run." she said. "My legs get sore. Plus, we can always catch up on rest on the bus."

"I don't know, Child… The way Facilier was speaking of it.."

A faint shade of orange was in the horizon, but went unnoticed behind Cleveland's buildings, so nighttime was still fresh. Wendy and Carla made it outside with bags of supplies packed. Facilier and the twins waited beside a very tall, night-blue bus with three floors. The door to the bus opened: the conductor bore a dark-purple suit and hat, and looked roughly in his 30s. "Top of the morning to you, laddies! My name is Jacksepticeye, here to play the role of Stanley Shunpike!" The conductor announced with an Irish accent, speaking fast and energetically.

"They seriously got a YouTube Let's Player to voice a role in this story?" Carla questioned.

"Yes, and I've got five tickets for Orchid Bay, one adult, three children, one pet, all aboard or we'll be wastin' daylight, tip-tip, taddly-ho, up from bed and off you go!"

"Please tell me that was part of your script and you don't actually talk like that." Carla said as they all boarded the odd bus.

"I stocked up on 10 pounds of crack before takin' this gig, didn't know what it was, but boy was I glad, pip-pip and doodly-doo! Aaaaall aboard!" The bus door shut.

The bus driver, Ernie Prang, was very old with white hair that looked like Albert Einstein. He had blue eyes under black circle glasses. There was also a Shrunken Head hanging by the windshield, sickly green with a squished nose, and had dreadlocks. It spoke with a Jamaican accent, "Mind your head."

Ernie stomped the gas pedal, the passengers were flown to the back of the bus by the vehicle's irrepressible speed. The driver swerved left, the passengers smashed against that wall, he zipped right, there they crashed. Wendy and Carla's hearts jumped every time they were about to hit a car or a building, but—this made no sense—every obstacle was jumping out of their way like they were programmed. Carla absolutely had to know if anyone saw, and/or felt these movements.

"Can I interest you in a hot chocolate while you wait?" Stan asked perkily, whirling circles in midair as he poured a cup of chocolate—as it fell, the liquid made a whirl around and above before landing in the cup, and kept flying out and back in the cup as the bus was apparently rolling.

"Sure! I would love some hot chocolate!" Wendy was pressed against the wall, weakly reaching her arms forward to take the cup. She tried to sip, but on a sudden turn, the hot cocoa flew out and drenched her face. She screamed and cried tears from the hotness.

"We're ROLLING, we're ROCKS, we're ROLLING, we're ROCKS!" The Ice Climbers were bundled like a ball, rolling back-and-forth to the swaying of the bus.

"A little history behind this," Facilier spoke calmly, his long arms and legs pressed against each side of the bus to keep from flying like the others, "before the Knight Bus was invented in 1865, the Ministry of Magic considered sidecar broomsticks. Heh heh, you can guess why that ain't make the green light!"

Up ahead was a construction zone, where the cranes dropped tons of bendable pipes and long planks onto the road. A flatbed truck was passing by and got a flat tire, leaving a small space between the flatbed and the ground. The group expected all of that to magically jump aside—but Wendy was the first to notice otherwise. "Hey… why the long faces?" Dre Head asked.

The bus's dimensions were steadily becoming squished and flat, along with its passengers; and its passengers' stomachs. Everything seemed to go slow-motion with this part. They had very little of the third dimension left as they slid under the flatbed. Then the bus's sides contracted, they became like a rectangular worm that crawled through a fallen pipe, up and around its sides and ceiling as said pipe was bent and spiraled. While still driving on its side, the squished bus could come out and drive across the side of a plank that was in the process of descending, followed by expert maneuverability across other falling planks, right-side-up, sideways right, upside down, until finally flipping and landing on the street. Almost instantly, the bus POPPED back to normal, zooming away from the construction zone. "Carla?"

"Yes, Wendy?"

"I'm glad I never went to school as a kid." Wendy spoke with weeping eyes. They passed a sign that said, _Orchid Bay, Maine. 5 hours by Knight Bus_.

 **Orchid Bay, Maine**

The sun was higher over the horizon when the bus finally made it to a forest road. It came to a very slow, and very gentle stop. As soon as the door opened, Wendy fell front-first on the ground, Carla landed on her gently, then the twins smashed them both, wearing happy expressions. As Dr. Facilier calmly stepped out, Stan Shunpike told him, "Sorry I can only take ya this far, but this town is very antsy when it comes to magic, and they try to limit supernatural tourism as much as possible. If you had element powers, that's one thing, but be a little careful when using magic 'rounds these guys. Thank ya for riding the Knight Bus, tell all yer friends and family, this is Jacksepticeye, I will see you all for the next bus ride!" He closed the door, and the vehicle zipped away, its tires screeching against the concrete.

"M-m-m… Mr. Facilier?" Wendy was on her knees, holding her stomach and crying. "I think I have motion-sickness… ulp.."

"What? Already? Girl, we ain't even at the timeskip, yet!" Facilier said.

"I'm sorry."

"Don' worry about it." Facilier raised his cane. "I 'ave a spell that'll help. Troia!" He touched Wendy's stomach.

She felt the sick feeling fade away, looking with wonder as she stood. "Wow! That does feel better!"

"Assuming my head was on correctly," Carla spoke as they strolled across the forest road, "what did he mean by 'this town is antsy with magic'?"

"Truth be told, I came here a couple times." Facilier replied. "I'll tell ya a little secret." They walked around a winding turn of the forest, where they had perfect view of the ocean, and the city across. "That's Orchid Bay. Looks like your average seaside town, right? Well, get this: they's a barrier over that town, we call it the Veil. All magic and magical creatures alike are completely invisible."

"Invisible? !" Wendy shook. "S-So that means we?…"

"Hhhhhahahahaha! Naw, humans are still flesh and solid, it's just all the other weird stuff. The most they tolerate are benders. Y'see, that city is a home to both humans, AND demons. Good demons that just wanted an escape from all the sorrow and sadness downstairs, but there are bad ones. Of course, the humans wouldn't be comfortable, that's why the Veil was created, so that demons could live in peace without humans judging them, and humans can live happily not knowing there are big scary monsters everywhere they look. However, humans that possess magic like you and me see everything."

"Excuse me, but didn't you say there are also bad demons?" Carla asked.

"Correct. And therein lies whom we are visiting today: a very lovely lady by the name of Jasmine Lee. Her ancestors created the Veil, and it is her job to fight and control the evil creatures. Ah remember when she was in 'er late teens and she helped teach martial arts at Hogwarts—hah hah, I FAILED that class!"

"Heh heh." Wendy forced a laugh; she couldn't find it too humorous, being a failure herself in some areas. "…Oh? Mr. Facilier, look!" Wendy pointed far up the winding, seaside road, where black GUN trucks were driving down, and helicopters flew overhead.

"Haven't seen GUN this persistent since the Firstborn Quest. Wendy, y'all should run ahead, they won't arrest us. Tom told me that Jasmine lives in the forest behind town. Try and find her and we'll catch up."

"Okay. Be careful, Mr. Facilier!" (Play "Sunshine Airport" from _Mario Kart 8_!)

 _Stage B-3: Orchid Bay_

 _Mission: Find the home of Jasmine Lee!_

"Sky Dragon BOOST!" Wendy blasted twin gusts of wind behind her and raced across the ocean, sidestepping left and right when GUN Sharks swam up from below in their aim to snack her. Wendy was bolting straight to the city pier, where _Orchid Bay_ was displayed on the welcoming sign- "Wendy, watch out!" Carla yelled when a line of GUN Sharks appeared in her path, forcing the airbender to drift rightward, skiing against the surface in the process. She couldn't turn around or slow down to look back, having to keep her feet moving across the water. "That was inconvenient."

"I'm not done, yet!" Wendy declared as she raced toward a close-by cruise ship, which steadily sailed away from the town. It was sailing past a short, jagged rock that slanted vertically up like a ramp, so Wendy poured more speed to run up and fly off it, going as high as the ship's deck. Carla lifted and carried the girl forward a little, then Wendy kicked a gust backward to fly onto the deck. "Sorry!" she yelled as she dashed across, sidestepping around the passengers and tables. She zipped to a flagpole, clutched it just as she flew by, and whirled upward thanks to the momentum, landing on the second level of the ship. "Whoa-!" She stumbled thanks to some rope on the floor, but recovered in time to nimbly jump the stacked boxes on the way.

When she encountered a taller stack of crates, Wendy shifted rightward and into the ship, throwing a quick "Sorry!" to all the waiters and workers that she zipped past and pushed with her wind. She slid down a stairway to the lower floor, following a set path through the dining hall, and out onto another deck where a Nitro Tram 5000 trampoline rested. "WHOOOAAA!" She jumped and bounced sky-high thanks to the powerful trampoline, but Wendy clutched a wire that was hanging under a blimp flying overhead. The blimp was designed like a Cheep Cheep fish.

Carla flew and caught up to her. "Do you ever stop to think before doing something?"

"I can't help myself sometimes! Besides, we're about to fly over the city, I can handle this." Wendy swung onto a walkway stationed below the blimp's side, then Carla lifted her up onto the blimp's roof. Wendy collected a Fire Soul that was floating over the balloon's backside, then rushed up to the front, standing on the slope as she looked down at the city. "See any good places to land?"

"Wendy, don't stand there or you might-"

"Wah-ah-AAAAHHH!" Wendy lost balance and fell as Carla predicted. There was a surreal blur as Wendy fell closer to the city—and landed on the back of some kind of slimy green bat monster. The monster lifted and turned its head to glare at Wendy, roaring a blood-hurdling scream. "AAAAHH!" Wendy leaped over the tail end, and landed on the head of a giant, orange, spike-backed dinosaur. The creature roared as Wendy ran across its back, up to its flailing tail before she flew off and landed on a rooftop. She needed a moment to catch her breath, and let Carla catch up. "Carla, where did THOSE things come from?"

It wasn't just them. As the kitten looked down to the streets, giant lizards, blob creatures, some kinds of hairy crocodiles, roamed everywhere. "Perhaps this is what Facilier talked about."

"And none of those people can see them…" Wendy recalled. "I wonder." She grabbed Carla, leapt off the building, bounced off a table umbrella, and presented her friend to a passing businessman. "Hello, Mister! This is my cat, Carla!"

"…?" The man looked confused. "Uuuuumm-"

"Never mind!" She boosted up the street and stopped at a corner. "So it looks like no one else can see you, either."

"Or perhaps he was pondering the point of some blue-haired child showing him her kitten."

"Or that." She sweatdropped. "Anyway, let's head to the forest." Wendy boosted down the right street, jumping up a stairway of fire escapes before climbing back on the roofs. A flock of Furnixes flapped around over a city street, so Wendy used their hook tails to swing across, then take land on a roof to her right. Some Bokoblin were trying to break into a rooftop window, so Wendy blasted the monsters over the edge with wind. "Sorry!" she yelled once more. Wendy ran off onto the next, lower roof and encountered twin Fatblin, who held metal shields. They jabbed their large spears, but Wendy jumped, kicked off the left one's, then stamped him in the face with both feet. She flew back, and while he was dizzy, Wendy blew a Cyclone Roar to send him falling over the edge. For the second one, Carla Torpedo Spun into its face, not really hurting him, but while it was trying to swing its spear at Carla over the edge, Wendy could blast another cyclone and push him over.

Wendy jumped to the next roof, then saw a lush green park not far away, deciding to go for a stroll. She bypassed a pink monster eating the bathrooms (ew), and saw a Fire Soul several meters up in the air, with a stairway of Guay (purple birds with orange beaks) floating up to it, aligned with a playground slide. Carla couldn't carry her that high, and although Wendy could run up the slide like a ramp, she was too heavy to jump the Guay, so she kept running. Wendy ran to a fountain in the park's center, jumped into its central spout, and was flown upwards, landing on a passing GUN Hawk. The Hawk thankfully flew her over an area of broken ground, likely for construction, and she jumped onto a safe street while the robot shifted skyward.

After passing a left turn corner, Wendy came to a towering purple building with a circular, tube-like structure around the top part. Wendy hit a Spring Pad to bounce onto a foothold around the tower, then jumped a team of GUN Beetles to get onto the next foothold. She then grabbed a dangling retractable hook that pulled her higher, swung to another one before a Beetle shot her, pulled higher, jumped across a Beetle to grab another one, went higher, then landed on a rounding walkway where Shield Hunters shot at her. She jumped over the first one, between it and the second, and blasted both off their feet with air gusts, then she ran to kick the third in the chest, knocking it down as she ran up a stairway.

She reached the upper floor of the building, ran through the café to the opposite balcony, then had Carla carry her up onto the roof. She saw another GUN Hawk about to pass the left of the roof, flying the direction of the forest, so Wendy vigorously leaped onto its back. Her hand accidentally pressed a switch that- "WAAAAAAHHH!" made the robot fly super-speed, so Wendy lost her grip and fell into the forest. The branches weakened her fall, but she landed upside-down with her legs bent over her. She jumped back to her feet, already lost, wondering how far she ended up. Without really thinking, Wendy chose a direction and ran. (End song.)

An old woman of Chinese descent was calmly tending to her garden. She was overweight, wearing a large, brownish-purple dress with dark-pink witch hat designs. She wore a necklace with a pink emblem, had grey hair in a bun (with a white strip along its left), and squinted reddish-brown eyes. Just as she was watering some flowers, somebody had burst through her fence and plopped onto her carrot patch. "MY CARROTS!" she panicked, dropping the water can. The culprit, Wendy Marvell, shook the dirt off her face and stood up. "What's the matter with you? ! Those are Pikpik Carrots I had specially ordered from Europe to lead scavenging animals into my traps! I didn't expect them to work so well on HUMANS!"

Wendy recomposed herself, "S-Sorry! I'll help clean up!" She hurriedly picked up the fallen fence boards and set them outside of the garden, then used her bare hands to scoop the carrots back into their holes, and the dirt with them. Carla eventually landed by her.

"Don't bother with the fence because that's another area of protection that needs improving." She returned to watering the flowers.

After Wendy finished replanting, she let her mind catch up with her. "Um, Miss… I'm looking for a woman named Jasmine Lee. Do you know if she lives around here?"

"Who wants to know?" The lady turned to her.

"Wendy Marvell, i-is my name." She bowed. "This is Car- never mind, you probably can't see her. Mister Facilier sent us to find her."

"Facilier, Facilier…" The woman tapped her wrinkly chin. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"I wouldn't know, but Mr. Facilier attended a school called Hogwarts, and he knew Jasmine Lee from martial arts class. Now Mr. Facilier is teaching me about magic, so we're-"

"Oh, HAH HAAA! NOW I remember!" The lady laughed. "Stick-Bones Harvey, that's what we called him! Because the bigger kids picked him up and threw him like sticks! Ahhhh, those were the days."

Wendy beamed. "Then you must be Miss Lee!" ("That much is obvious." Carla remarked.)

"Please, call me Ah-Mah." Jasmine spoke humbly. "I have a granddaughter, you look about her age. Who's the cat with the wings?"

"Th-This is Carla! (At first, I didn't think you could see her.)" Wendy scratched her head. "It's nice to meet you, Ah-Mah."

"The pleasure is all mine. Please, come inside and let me make you tea." The woman walked onto her porch and entered her small, white house. "Then I'll tell you more about Stick-Bones Facilier. Wash your hands first."

 **Downtown**

"DEMOOOOOONS! Hey, DEMOOOOOOONS!" Sonny cried for the whole town to hear. "Where are yooooooouuuu-"

"Quiet!" Facilier bonked him with his cane. "Heh heh, DON'T MIND THEM, fellas, children get really over-imaginative when they wear fluffy coats in the beginning of summer!" He gestured the twins forward quickly.

"Mr. Facilier, why don't the demons come out?" Donna questioned.

"The demons _are_ out, but since y'all aren't magic, you can't see them. What up!" Facilier waved at a tall, yellow monster with a big mouth of sharp teeth. "Nobody in this town can see them, you'll find very few people who know magic and supernatural phenomena exist. It's the same as it's been for centuries. Jus' don't worry about it, now I don't see Wendy anywhere, so she's probably at Jasmine's house by now."

The group made it to the opposite end of the parking lot of Orchid Bay Mall. "I'm goin' ahead to Jasmine's. Y'all remember what I told ya to find, right?" Facilier asked. The twins nodded. "Good, then take these cards." He handed them small, green cards with witch hat logos. "Show them to every clerk. If he puts on a stupid look, move on to the next person. I'm counting on you, and no drawing attention to yourselves." The twins happily skipped into the building to carry their tasks.

Facilier hopped in his bright purple car (hidden in a secret compartment only he knows) and rode out to the back woods of town, following a dirt trail. He happened upon a small white house with a purple roof, that smelled of old people. He walked up to the front door and knocked. _"Who IS iiiiit?"_

"Doctor Facilier." He pronounced with his French accent.

 _"Oh, HAH hah haaa! Come in, come in, we were just talking about you!"_ Already sensing badness, Facilier creaked open the door and saw Jasmine, Wendy, and Carla at the table. "And then he got lost under Gruntilda's portable underdress flea circus! WE COULDN'T FIND HIM FOR HOURS!" Ah-Mah cracked up.

"Heheheh. I probably would, too." Wendy blushed. "I get so lost and ditsy. Plus I'm kind of small."

"Harvey, so nice of you to join us!" Ah-Mah greeted the man as he sat at the table with a blushed face. "Your little intern has told me all about your shop. You really ought to watch yourself. The Magical Ministry may not approve."

"You forget the Ministry is now World Government-protected." Facilier noted, sipping a teacup. "Thanks to Miss Head President. We mages are allowed more freedom."

"Freedom comes with a price, Harvey." Ah-Mah shook her cup a little. "Magic was not an art that the gods blessed onto mortals. We developed it ourselves. There have been wars between element benders, 'Muggles,' and magic users alike. Our power was deemed too unnatural, and too deadly. That's why laws had to be established. Especially in this town."

"Miss Ah-Mah, could you tell us about yourself?" Wendy requested. "Mr. Facilier said your family created the Veil."

"Yes, we did." Ah-Mah sipped her cup. "My family always possessed strong magical prowess. To my knowledge, we are of very few families who studied physical combat. Sure, most mages believe you can just wave a wand and throw a few spells, but to be physically enduring and agile is an important gift. You should see how strong we are." Ah-Mah flexed her left arm, smirking. "'Course, not all of us are born with magic, my son for instance. Harvey, you are right that the World Government protects the Ministry of Magic. Thanks to them, we mages cannot be persecuted for our power. That does not mean mages cannot be feared, cannot create a panic among non-mages. This is the reason we must be discrete as much as possible, especially under the Veil."

"Well, as long as people are happy." Wendy replied with a glum look, facing down. "And if there are no bad monsters." Inside, though, she had mixed feelings about the idea that magic users had to hide their selves. She looked up with a brighter look, "Miss Lee, will you teach me magic? Mister Facilier said you-"

"Ha ha ha, WENDY, Wendyyy." Facilier clamped her mouth shut. "You can't learn magic until you go to Hogwarts! No, I brought you to Jasmine's so you could learn to punch and kick!"

"You mean… fight?"

"Of course, Wendy! A growing girl like you NEEDS more meat on your bones!" He lightly pinched Wendy's arm, making her flinch. "Your legs have muscle, to be sure, and yo' airbending's superb, but you'd be amazed how far you get when you know how to punch."

"Um… I guess you're right." Wendy looked down again, sadly.

"He has a point." Carla agreed. "Don't be sad, you've gotten by without magic this long."

"I would be glad to teach you." Ah-Mah began, standing up. "If not for the fact I am reallyyyyy, really old. I've had this pain in my hip for the past three months. I think it would be more wise to let my granddaughter teach you. If you head down the road outside, you can find her by the canyon, doing her… daily activity."

Wendy and Carla jogged (and flew) through the forest to find a gorge area with barren, soil ground. _"RAAAAH!"_ Wendy nearly lost her balance when a giant, brown-furred rat, with sharp teeth and horns, flew against the slope beneath her. (Play "Lightning Speed" from _Naruto: Shippuden_!)

Juniper Lee flexed her fingers after dealing such a mighty punch, then focused on her other opponent, the Dracotta Beast, a huge red dinosaur with big pink ears. June wore a green T-shirt that showed her belly, and bared a dark-pink silhouette of a juniper flower. She wore long blue jeans and large brown shoes, and had sleek black hair with a pink wisp along the left side. "Ya SEE what I did to that guy? !" June yelled at the Dracotta. "That isn't even CLOSE to how hard I can punch!"

Without warning, the Dracotta whipped its tail and sent her flying. June recovered, but saw the Racatan had recovered, charging on all fours and attempting to snap June in its buckteeth, but June swung her foot up and kicked the rat in those teeth. She flipped, kicked off the creature's head, and flew partway up the Dracotta's body to kick it in the neck. Racatan turned around and breathed fire at the child, so Juniper ran a circle around the rat to surround himself in a flame circle. Juniper rushed up to the Dracotta to punch its knee, but it felt little pain and kicked June away.

While she was down, Wendy noticed the Racatan inhale the fire surrounding him, ready to blow it at the fallen girl, so Wendy dashed in the way, inhaled a large breath of air, and countered the fire with her wind, blowing it back and burning the Racatan's face. June helped herself up and passed a grateful smile to the blue-haired. They focused on the monsters, in which Racatan shook the fire off as they growled with fury. "Jump above me!" Wendy yelled. June leaped high above as Wendy blasted a Cyclone Roar, blowing June several meters upward, so she could land on Dracotta's head. She punched the beast's blue eyes and tugged its ears, before the Dracotta shook his head and sent her flying.

The Racatan slashed its claws at Wendy, who dashed the opposite direction, slid to a halt, and "Sky Dragon BOOST!" came at full speed, ramming the Racatan's stomach headfirst as he flew back. "Ow ow ow!" Wendy gripped her throbbing head. "Bad idea, bad idea!"

"Wendy, watch out!" Carla swooped down and lifted her friend to safety before the Racatan blasted fire.

"Thanks, Carla." Wendy said as they glided above the trees. Looking down, she noticed a black-haired boy in a red shirt walking through a distant, open area of forest with his dog. "Look, there's somebody there."

These two figures, Ray Ray Lee and Monroe, wandered lost through the forest. "Ay can't believe we got lost just because you thought you smelled barbeque from over that river!" Monroe stated with a Scottish accent.

"Hey, we stopped a group of Fire Demons from torching a rose garden, I say we're heroes." Ray Ray argued.

"Excuse me!" They both looked up, seeing Wendy and Carla overhead. "This area is dangerous! Get out of here!" the latter warned.

"Who in blazes are you?" Monroe shouted.

"That dog just talked! !" Wendy exclaimed.

Ray Ray gasped, "THAT CAT JUST TALKED! And can fly!"

"Since you two are up so high, Ay don't suppose you've seen any monsters?" Monroe inquired.

"Yes, there are monsters in that direction." Carla nudged with her head. "You shouldn't go wandering."

 _"Oh, you did NOT just spit on me!"_ a familiar girl's voice rang.

"JUNE!" The boy and dog hurried to where Carla pointed.

"Why am I such a difficult creature to listen to." Carla remarked before carrying Wendy back.

"I just had these clothes dry-cleaned!" June shouted at the Dracotta. "If I can't get these stains out, you're paying with your teeth!"

"June!" She looked above the hill when Ray Ray and Monroe appeared. "A Racatan's weakness is its tail." Monroe informed. "And Dracottas have very ticklish ears."

"Carla, we can handle it!" Wendy dropped free of the kitten's paws and landed on the Dracotta's head. She gripped and pulled the ears open, then Carla fluttered beside the right ear to tickle with her wings. The monster began laughing hysterically, falling on his back and kicking his legs. Meanwhile, Juniper dodged the Racatan's breath, slid behind and grabbed his little tail. With her super strength, she lifted and swung him around and around. Wendy and Carla got away from the Dracotta as it stood up in anger. It turned to look at June, so she could chuck the Racatan up and against Dracotta's face. They both fell on the ground defeated. Wendy ran beside June and exchanged a victorious smirk. (End song.)

After the monsters recovered, they were sitting politely (though scowling) before June, as Racatan spoke, _"Ruh-rah, rur-rah-rah, rur-rah-rah."_

"What's it saying?" Ray Ray asked as Monroe turned pages of a book.

"Not that my Racatanese is top notch, but I believe he's angry at the Dracotta for stealing its golden nut."

"Okay, Dracosaurus, give back his nut, and both of you crawl back to your caves," June demanded, "because if I see you tearing up the valley again, I'm wearing my gym shoes!"

Both monsters exchanged gruff looks, before the Dracotta pulled a saliva-covered gold rock from its bowels. He gave it to Racatan, before both stomped away in anger. "Sigh… that could've taken longer. Thanks for the help." June smiled at Wendy, holding a hand out. "The name's June. What's your-" Wendy panicked when she saw a floating pair of eyes, and an open mouth behind June, but the girl swung her other first behind her and punched the invisible chameleon. The creature depressedly crawled away.

Wendy stared agape, but shook this off and returned the smile. "I'm Wendy." She shook her hand. "I'm happy to help."

"THAT was SO COOL!" Ray Ray cheered. "Who is this blue-haired girl? ! PLEASE tell me you're our long-lost cousin!"

"I think we used up that cliché." June remarked. "But he raises a good question. Where'd you come from, Wendy? And who's the flying cat? (I'm open if you're willing to trade.)"

Ray Ray snorted a chuckle, earning a glare from Monroe.

 **Ah-Mah's House**

"And that's how Stick-Bones Harvey got himself off of the laundry string." Ah-Mah concluded her tale, and Facilier held his hat over his face in embarrassment.

"My favorite part is when that bully flapped him like a towel!" Ray Ray laughed.

"If I didn't know this was a magic school, I would've sworn you made all that up." June rolled her eyes humorously.

"Oh, it happened, all right." Ah-Mah nodded. "If you roll up your sleeves, we might still see the clothespin marks."

"Weeell, putting that aside," June turned to Wendy, "I wouldn't mind showing you a few moves. 'Course, you kicked plenty of butt back there already."

"Heh heh. I'd still like an ice bag for my head, though." Wendy blushed.

"I can't right now, though." June frowned regretfully, standing up. "We promised our parents we'd help clean the house. How 'bout we meet in the park at 1:00? Come on, Ray Ray."

"Dude, you gotta teach me how to run like Super Sonic!" Ray Ray exclaimed to Wendy as he followed his sister.

"Yer an annoying mix of both Super Sonic _and_ Chaos." Monroe remarked. The trio shut the door upon their exit.

"For the sake of avoiding anymore stories…" Facilier stood up. "We should probably regroup with some friends of ours. Let's go, Wendy, Charles."

"Thank you for the tea!" Wendy told the woman.

"And my name is Carla." The cat corrected.

They climbed in the back of Facilier's WKD WTCH car while the witch-doctor got behind the wheel. "I sent Sonny and Donna inside the mall for a 'private' errand. If they ain't find it, we'll look ourselves." Facilier fixed his rearview mirror.

"What did you send them to find?" Wendy asked.

Facilier smiled to himself and sported a light chuckle. He turned to face Wendy. "You're getting a jumpstart ahead of all those first-years, Wendy. Because we're about to buy you a wand."

 **Greenland; Mountain of Flavors**

The morning was crisp as the sun peeped over the horizon. The ocean air smelled especially fresh at this time of day, especially when it mixed with the cold scent of ice cream. Augustus parked his plane on the ocean, climbing a rugged cliffside as Maggie rode his shoulders. He and the Baby Trio followed the route above, finding a wooden house within an enclosing. Augustus knocked, and a pair of eyes looked through the looking hole. "Tax collector?"

Augustus lowered his shades, smirking. "Adventurer."

"Oh!" The man opened the door. He was actually a brown bear with a long snout, white T-shirt, and reddish-brown trousers. "You must be Augustus! Brandon told me you'd be coming, yup."

"Messenger bird travels fast." Augustus noted, walking in.

"No actually, we have cellphones." Ricardo held up the small device. "You say you lookin' for Corn-Clamber Boots for that-there Buttermilk Buildin'?"

"Uh-huh. And it looks to me you have a surplus." Augustus looked around. "One Size-9, two Size-1's, and a Size-2."

"Ohh, these children… Brandon warned ya about Lord Licorice, yup?"

"Did he warn you what I thought about Lord Licorice, yup?" Augustus tossed his lollipop in the trash.

"He warned me you had too many sodas, yup. Augustus, if you're really going to put the young'uns in danger, I need to know, what's so special about Buttermilk Building? Surely it's more than the sake of an adventure."

Augustus began another, yellow lolli. His eyes still behind his shades, he looked up in thought.

 _"Mi abuela said, when God created the world, He made all kinds of candies that, when baked together, make the most delicious cake in the world!" The diseased, little Spanish boy spoke with wonder and delight to his teenage visitor._

 _"You must be thinking of the Eight Sugary Wonders." Augustus spoke coolly. "The Eight Firstborn created those, and they create a cake that-"_

 _"No no no, is not like those! These candies were around before that! And the cake that they create, its taste lasts with you to Heaven!"_

 _"A cake more delicious than the Eight Sugary Wonders?" The explorer was highly intrigued, beginning another lollipop. "I might have to see this for myself."_

 _The boy coughed. "I want to eat it, too. Señor Augustus… can you please take me to find it?"_

 _Augustus frowned. "I dunno if you're in the right… shape to travel."_

 _"Then please bake it and bring to me! I want to know, kah, cough, ka…"_

 _"…" Augustus didn't want to disappoint him… nor did he want to lie. "How long do you even have?"_

 _"The doctors say seven months. I don't think it can save me, but it sounds so… delicioso."_

 _The faint light twinkled off Augustus's shades. He smiled. "Tell me what these candies are. If I don't make it… I'll still bring the cake to you."_

That was back in November. Now it was May. Augustus wanted to find the Lost Candies, but was more in debt with the Big Mom Pirates in finding Candied Planet. He thought that if they could find Candied Planet, he could take Luviro with them, show him these Candies and more. But Augustus hadn't gotten over how he was deceived by Big Mom. He wasted time hunting the Sugary Wonders, when he could have searched for the Lost Candies for a better purpose.

Truthfully, Augustus suspected Luviro to have passed by now, so any reason to find the Lost Candies was for the adventure. But in theory, he could have found the Candies if he hadn't been more interested in "Candied Planet." He was selfish, he admitted, and he regretted it. "You're right, maybe it is." He told Ricardo. "But you don't need to know that. How many Chocolate Coins you want for these, 30?"

"Thirty-four." Ricardo said. Augustus tossed him the coins, buying the four Corn-Clamber Boots for them. They looked like normal boots, but they had very sharp sweet corns on their soles. "Jus' don't tell Lord Licorice where ya got them."

As the Marzipans were leaving the shop, somebody watched them from the sky. It was a man flying like a kite, his body flat and bendable as paper. His hi-tech goggles zoomed on the group.

 **Unknown fortress**

The Marzipans' image displayed on a screen. A ball-shaped creature with spider legs, a single eye, and a mouth of sharp teeth skittered off to a throne room. He spoke with a wide smile, "Lord Licorice! The Teavee saw something! He saw people buy Corn-Clamber Boots! What if they go to Buttermilk? ?"

Lord Licorice was interrupted polishing his shiny, green candy gun. He smirked evilly. "Is that so? Well… If they goes up there, just have Veruca deal with them." He locked his gun on a Red Chuchu that was mindlessly crawling around the floor. "I'll be there momentarily." He shot the Chuchu, scattering his remains. "Tell Smithers to clean that up." he said as he walked away.

 **Negaverse; DNK Moonbase**

Team Nerehc and the DNKG operatives returned to Moonbase. They uncuffed the delinquents' arms, but fixed chi-blocks on Atnort and Annaira. "You'll be given minor chores and duties until we feel like we can trust you." Nerehc told them. "I'd like for that day to be soon."

"Yeah, we aren't stupid." Beewv stated smugly on Avakam's shoulder. "Just show me to the nearest dirty keyboard and I'll do what I do."

A minute later, Sicnarf brought Yddam and Hcaz to them. "Beewv, you're helping Hcaz clean the terminals." The glasses-wearing boy carried Beewv off. "Annaira, help Yddam in the kitchen."

The Yhprum sister looked frightfully at the alien. "Hehe… no hard feelings?"

"Leave your light on when you go to sleep." Anna threatened before following her.

"Atnort, help Sicnarf fix weapons. Avakam, help Inap in the laundry room."

Avakam shot a sudden glare at Ininap's face, scaring the girl. The alien walked ahead annoyedly as Inap jogged far behind. Nerehc sighed and returned to his office, sitting boredly behind stacks of papers. Ghirahim popped out of his sword. "Why do you even care about these fools, Master?"

"When the world's about to end, you have the urge to make as many friends as possible."

"Where's your evidence that the world _is_ ending?"

"Some guy obsessed with masks. I really dunno what to do, Ghira… if finding the Seven Lights and Thirteen Darknesses is up to the Positives, I guess the most I can do is build up my own army. However whacked-up we are."

The office door knocked, so Ghirahim returned. Nerehc answered the door to find AlyakAm and Egroeg Gnik. "Hello, Numbuh -3621." The former greeted tonelessly. "We have a request for you. We wish to go into the Posiverse to meet our Positives. Our own private Meet Your Match Day."

"Could you organize a meeting?" Egroeg asked.

"Sure. What's the occasion?"

"We feel bad for missing Meet Your Match Day. AlyakAm is especially looking forward to mocking my opposite self."

"Egroeg knows that if he mocks me in such a light, I will eat his fingers." AlyakAm said.

"Why don't siblings bond as well as you guys." Nerehc remarked sarcastically. "Okay, I'll try to get in contact with Cheren and see what his operatives are doing. Maybe I can ask his progress…" The three of them left the office.

 **Underworld**

Medusa watched them all in her giant cauldron. Nosam was helping Lorac train in acrobats, using his waterbending as an obstacle course. Ynohtna was trying to play with his gloomy little sister. Ikuyim was practicing her crystalbending. Newd was bugging Ydnew, in the form of a red bee. _"Simple little Negatives… so carefree and blind to everything."_

One of her green snake strands, Thanatos, dangled beside her. "Medusaaa! When are we going to start finding the Darknesses? ! Palutena is going to beat us!"

 _"Patience, Thannypoo. It won't matter who finds what first. Because Palutena will have Seven Lights, and I will have Thirteen Darknesses. Assuming I can't rely on Ragaj to turn the Lights to my side, thirteen still beats seven!"_

"Yes, but if we wait too long, the universe will be destroyed, and we'll have to wait another quadrillion years." Pandora, the living blue flame with a face, spoke depressedly.

 _"Yes, you're right. Which is why it's time we began our quest."_ Medusa smirked at her cauldron. _"Little do they know, these Negatives are about to take part in a story I whipped up:_ Legend of the Thirteen Darknesses _! HA HA ha ha!"_

"Zeeeeehahaha." Blackbeard laughed, munching a cherry pie. "I'm too excited to meet them! What were their names again?"

 _"I dunno, Blacky. Why don't you name one?"_

"Gladly!" Blackbeard twirled and let his coat flap, speaking confidently, "I believe one of them was a Pirate Emperor like me! His name is Davy Jones!" He pictured the tentacle-faced captain in the sky.

"I remember a few as well." Pandora sighed. "Two of the Darknesses are wizards. One of them is Zeref the Black Cloud." Her flame displayed the handsome, teenage mage with black hair.

"Oo-oo, I know!" Thanatos perked up. "Two of the Darknesses were alien overlords! One of them sounds _super_ sexy! And her name," the snake twirled, "was YELLOW DIAMOND!" He imagined a slim, shadowed figure with a yellow eye.

Medusa pictured these three figures, as well as 10 more silhouetted, appearing in the dark sky. _"When these three evils come together, the New World will be OURS for the taking! Any silly child army Palutena can create will pale in comparison! For now, it is time for our favorite opposites to begin. Ragus… he is at his house."_

Somewhere in the Negaverse was a girl with wide, psychotic purple eyes, aquamarine hair, and a forced smile. She seemed to have stitches on her face, wore a dark-pink coat, and a dress depicting a full moon over a shadowed graveyard. "Great, Lady Medusa! I look forward to playing with him!" She held a doll of Nerehc in her hand.

* * *

 **Who remembers _Juniper Lee_? Good show back in the day, I watched it to refresh my memory, it wasn't bad! But as you can see, Wendy has the uncanny power to make friends with anyone named "Lee." XD And yes, Jacksepticeye is a YouTube Let's Player, for some reason I pictured him as Stanley Shunpike from _Harry Potter_. Next time, we'll do Augustus's next stage, then lots of training for Wendy. Don't smoke, kids!**


	4. Rotten Cream

**Definitely one of the shorter chapters in this story; but who can really complain, when chapters will get so much longer later. XP This takes place during Chapter 9 of _Lights_.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 4: Rotten Cream_**

 **Orchid Bay Mall**

Facilier parked his car in an open space before he, Wendy, and Carla entered the mall. "Mister Facilier, can we buy some new clothes while we're here?" Wendy asked bubbly.

"How many clothes can you have, Child?" Carla questioned.

"Not just for me, for you!" Wendy grinned. "You need more fashion, Carla!"

"I am not a crazy schoolgirl. I am perfectly fine with my current outfits and nothing-" They walked by a window advertising 'Clothes For Cats.' Carla pressed her paws and face against it. Tiny shirts and shorts, tiny skirts, tiny ties, tiny bikinis, all cute and fit for her size. "My, those look lovely."

"Aha, there they are!" Facilier beamed. "SONNY! DONNA!" He waved.

 _"WHERE?"_ the distant twins looked around. They spotted each other next to each other. _"SIBLIIING!"_ They hugged.

Facilier, Wendy, and Carla went to join the twins. "Hey, where's Carla?" Sonny looked around.

"I'm right here." Carla said.

"I don't see her, Sonny!" Donna looked.

"Wow. You really are invisible, Carla." Wendy deduced.

"I wouldn't consider these two proof. Sigh, but if I am, at least you can see me, Child."

"So did you find it?" Facilier asked.

"Yeah, we did!" Sonny danced. "We showed them around! The first guy was like 'Uhhhhh.'"

"The second one was like 'DUUUUUHHH.'" Donna danced.

"Then after about 10 or 12 'Dummy-whats'…"

"WE FOUND IT!" Both excitedly pointed to a second-floor store labeled _GOTHICS GALORE_.

"Now's the chance to say that's obvious, Charles." Facilier remarked as he led them to the escalator. ("Why do you keep calling me that.")

Gothics Galore reeked of a scent that ruined Wendy and Carla's noses, possibly a perfume goths would wear. The woman running the stand was slim and had brownish-black hair with some colored strands, tied in two balls. She was smoothing her black nails when the group arrived, especially taking notice of the Shadow Man and winged cat. "You guys look the real deal." She put her file down and turned to them. Her nametag read _Tasha_.

"Good morning, Miss." Facilier grinned coolly and showed his own card. "This child here is a Little Wiz, so we're looking to get hitched up."

Tasha looked at Wendy, and her glare made the girl back up shyly. "She looks like a twerp. Are you sure she's old enough?"

"She turned 11 back in February, she's a registered Hogwarts student! Come on, she knows not to use it, just show us the good stuff!"

"Fine." Making sure no one else was in the store, Tasha opened a compartment under the scalp of a mannequin skull on her desk. She pushed the button, sealing the shop with a garage door. The walls and shelves flipped, revealing undersides with rows and rows of wands, spell books, and magic charms.

Tasha's own glass desk sunk and came up with a collection of wands. "Any wand you could ever ask. Take your pick."

Wendy was highly intrigued. They were all cool-looking wands. She first took a smooth, black one labeled 'Raven's Beak.' She flicked the wand: a storm of hidden fireworks sprouted out of the walls and floors, exploding everywhere and creating colorful clouds. Tasha casually put out the flames with an extinguisher. "Try another one."

Embarrassed, Wendy put it back and picked up a 'Christmas Star,' which had a shiny yellow star on its tip. Wendy tapped it on the desk, making glitters. Jingle bells sounded, as did church bells, snow fell from the ceiling, and a gigantic snowman broke through and started jumping around the five of them, smashing them flat. The snowman flew away, and all that stopped. "Nope. Try again." Tasha said.

Wendy unflattened herself and picked a 'Viola Rose,' which was green with purple petals around the tip. She smiled, having a good feeling about this wand. She gave it a whirl and flicked.

Somewhere in the world, a tremendous explosion burned 500 miles of land into nothing. The smoke cloud rose like a mushroom. _"We'll return to_ Classic American Wars _after these messages!"_ With that, Tasha turned the TV off.

"I wanted to see that part." she said. "Anyway, wrong wand." Wendy had turned Carla into a fish-turkey with her flick. "Pick again."

Wendy looked at them with thought… then noticed a pretty pink wand that glittered like crystal. She picked it up and rubbed her hand along it. "Oh, don't bother with that one." Tasha said. "Lamia Scales don't pick masters easily."

Wendy stared and waved it around softly. There was something entrancing about the Scale. …The wand glowed, and a pink circle of light shone around Wendy. It reflected off Facilier, Carla, and the twins' eyes. They gazed in awe. A kind of light, and a kind of force that established the contract between wizard and wand. The light disappeared, and Wendy stared at the Scale, still speechless. "…OUR EYES HURT FOR SOME REASON!" Sonny and Donna smiled ('guess they didn't actually see it).

"Huh… not bad." Tasha said without interest. "You're like the second person that got a Lamia Scale from this store."

"Who was the first?"

"Some chick with pink hair. I think she's like, a dancer. I have a picture of her somewhere…" She searched her drawers.

"I think we're good." Facilier concluded. "How much do we pay you?"

"Eighty dollars."

"Can't expect the cliché where you're so amazed with her power, you decide to sell for free." Facilier shrugged, pulling the money out of his wallet. "Thank you for the wand."

The five mages (only way to simplify them) left the mall as Wendy studied her wand with sparkling eyes. "Wow, my first wand! I can't believe it!" She waved it around. "I'm finally a full-fledged mage! I can turn water into wine, and lampposts into toads, and make the sky brown, and-"

"All in the comfort and safety of where no one can see us." Facilier reminded her. "You're still underage, Child. Using magic outside o' school gets ya in trouble."

"Oh." Wendy frowned. "But, where would we go?"

After they made it to their car, Facilier quickly gestured the group inside. He sat in the front seat while turning to them, "We probably shouldn't do it anywhere out in the open, 'specially with all these GUN trucks drivin' around. (Government musta tipped them off this is a good place to hide.) So we gonna train you someplace special. IN HERE!" Without warning, Facilier swept the four of them into his hat, then dove in himself.

"UUH!" They landed on a flat, bright-blue, tiled floor that stretched for miles in a dimension under a wavy, fiery-orange sky. The hat landed and bounced as Facilier stretched out. "WELCOME, children, to the hat of Doctor Facilier!"

"WE still can't see CARLA!" Sonny and Donna chorused with silly smiles.

"Now I know you're pulling a sham." she replied with a glare.

"Ain't no one gonna find us, ain't no one gonna know. So wand ready Wendy, are ya ready?" Facilier slipped out a stack of cards from his sleeve.

The blue-haired maiden clutched her wand and looked confidently, "I'm ready!"

"Perfect! Then here, we, GO!" Facilier shuffled the cards around the floor, they grew to human size and began floating on their own. A creepy Joker card approached Wendy. "Simple Blasting Spell, Wendy, just flick your wand and say 'Expelliarmus'!"

Wendy focused on the living card. "EXPELLI-" Wendy flicked the wand—when she threw her arm back, the wand flew behind her, whirling across the air. "AAAH!" She dodged when the Joker blew fire.

"Firm grip, Wendy!" Facilier yelled.

Wendy ran by, grabbed her wand off the floor, and- "Expelli-" She held it by the tip, the wand blasted and sent herself flying backward.

"Remember your arm movements!"

Wendy aimlessly shook her wand, "Incendio! GYAAAAH!" Her wand caught fire, it spread to her hand, she ran around the floor screaming and shaking it.

"Oppotus Lookin!" She cast the spell at a mirror—it struck herself, and Carla nearly puked at the sight of Wendy's insides.

"VENTUS!" Wendy furiously whipped her arm around like a windmill, creating a cyclone that spun her around in midair like a wheel.

"YAAAAAAAAHHHH!" After a failed Snake-Summoning Spell, the slithery creatures were nipping Wendy's legs. She ran around frantically while Carla shook her head in disappointment.

"You're hopeless, Child…"

 **Border of South and North Dakota**

Anyone who is familiar with the tale of Black John Licorice will hear that the Licorice Stalks grow in South Dakota. That was a lie that was told to make the song rhyme. That's not to say nothing can be found between the two states. The Marzipan Pirates landed a few miles off, then walked the rest of the way. The sky became cloudy with a creamy white mist. The very atmosphere made them feel kind of moist. Augustus took a great whiff, smiling at the mountain beyond his sunglasses. "Buttermilk Building."

The mountain of the richest, moistest cream towered high. Augustus could already feel its rich, melty taste. "At its very peak sits the Sun Cream. Which, out of context, sounds like suntan lotion, but it's actually a cream so soft, slippery and warm, it melts all the troubles in your heart."

"So it's like doin' it with a lady wearing sunscreen on the beach." Rallo said.

"Yes, but going mountain hiking in summer won't give me any swimsuits." Stewie complained as they put on their Corn-Clamber Boots. "Perhaps the weapon we'll acquire here will be some kind of Cool—"

"Stewie, Ah SWEAR TO GOD if you say that!" Rallo threatened.

"…Blasting gun." Stewie finished.

"Good."

"Mw-mw." Maggie took out her pacifier, smiled at them, and said, "Cool Hwhip!"

"GOD DAMMIT!" Rallo cursed. (Play "Butter Building" from _Smash Bros. Brawl_!)

 _Stage B-4: Buttermilk Building_

 _Mission: Get the Sun Cream!_

With the Clamber Boots strapped tight to their feet, Augustus marched up the slippery white slope with the Baby Trio behind. Giant creamballs rolled down at them from the cliff above, so the four were careful to maneuver around, which was more difficult on this ground. The cliffside was exposed from the cream, and was made of solid, rugged sherbet. "We can walk up this!" Augustus told them, planting the sweet corn spikes against the ice cream. His boots stuck perfectly to the wall, so the adventurer began to stomp up. Creamballs continued to drop from the heavens, the Marzipans stepped left or right to let them pass before continuing. Cream Parabuzzies—Buzzy Beetles with white shells and wings, flapped back-and-forth over parts of the path, forcing the crew to simply wait or walk around. Maggie chose to go collect a Golden Wonka Bar between mirrored Beetles, then the four pirates made it to the ledge up top.

Creamballs still came at them from the left, so the four had to step up strips of sherbet on the wall, high enough so the balls could pass under. Eventually, the crew made it to a small open field above a cliff, where White Cream Chuchu emerged from the moist ground. Augustus used his Candycane Cutlass to slice the blobs in front, and stamped his Corn-Clamber Boots against the ones behind, and Maggie took delight in shooting them in the eyes, viewing the creepy result. Augustus retrieved a Bounce Gum from one of the Chu, looking up the series of pillars that led higher up a peak. "Mags, you're with me." he decided. "You brats take that path." He pointed at a road around the left of the mountainside, which Stewie and Rallo followed.

He put Maggie over his shoulders, then puffed his Bounce Gum to size before making the exciting hops up the slippery pillars. It put a smile on his face when Maggie waved her arms and cheered with her little baby voice. He was wary of candy corn spikes sticking in and out of certain platforms, before the gum popped on the targeted peak. Creamy Goombas appeared from cream mounds, white Goombas with red shoes, and if the humans got headbonked, their bodies would become more slippery for a few seconds. Augustus dodged their attacks as he easily stomped the creatures. With that, they faced another, more distant peak, in which Maggie fired her grappling hook to latch a pillar that stood on it. She detached the rope and tied to a pillar on this peak, letting Augustus climb across. The opposite end was steadily losing grip on the slippery pillar, but just before it fell, Augustus leaped the rest of the way.

The explorer followed a path between parallel trench walls, with a sherbet path leading up along the left. His body shifted sideways as he started the journey up, and Snapdragons popped out of their holes above or below the path in attempt to eat him. This path ended, and Augustus looked right (upward in his vision) to find a sherbet path around a rock kept suspended by two pillars. Augustus jumped and quickly flipped 180 degrees in midair to stick his Corn-Clambers into the sherbet. The path spiraled under the rock and to its right side, letting Augustus kick off onto a path along the right trench wall. After avoiding the Creamy Parabuzzies flapping over the path, Augustus made it to the flat ground above.

Soldiers in black armor and wielding Candycane Cutlasses ambushed him—the Licorice guards known as Blackberries. Seems he was here, after all. Augustus threw his Gobstopper to bounce around their faces, then caught his projectile before running to clash his sword with one. Another guard ran up from the side and swung his blade, Augustus ducked to trick the guard into striking his friend, then the teen jumped up to punch the second one in the face. Augustus threw his Gobstopper around the other three guards, attacking them with his cutlass afterward, but the previous two recovered, forcing Augustus to defend himself before dodging away. "You guys would be easier to beat if I had my Haki. Ugh, I don't need this." Augustus abandoned the fight and dove to his belly, sliding down a slippery cream slope over the peak's edge. He gained speed quickly, then up a ramp, over a gap, before landing on a new field.

Along the left wall was a slope with very small sherbet patches, perfect for the Deadly Babies' feet, so he couldn't journey up and get the Wonka Bar on his own. Augustus ignored the Chuchu in the field and entered a cave with a ceiling of spiky candy corn. There was a hole in the ground, and the next path was through a tunnel on a high perch. Augustus carefully stepped to and peeked into the hole. A familiar football-shaped head and round, fluffy black afro overlooked a pit of melted cream. "Stewie, Rallo! Up here!"

The babies looked up in surprise. Stewie spoke in his communicator, "Augustus, there you are. Is Maggie up there with you?"

"She'll catch up." Augustus replied in his own communicator. "Listen, Tubbs, do that underground boombox thing."

"Only if you promise to find a better way to classify 'that thing.'" Rallo jumped and burrowed underground, using his boombox to shake the ground and cause a geyser to emerge from the pool of cream. Augustus jumped on as it rose up, then jumped into the tunnel before it smashed him against the spikes. The tunnel led to a more expansive cave with many holes and platforms. Augustus threw his Gobstopper to take down the Cream Keese, and Rallo's boombox caused geysers to emerge from all the holes, albeit at different heights. When Augustus looked down into their chamber, it seemed the babies' accessible path was lower than the ground where the geysers were, so Rallo couldn't get closer for a better quake. Augustus walked around to study the room, seeing a Blackberry guard with a shield standing on a platform, in which his Gobstopper couldn't penetrate him.

Augustus got onto a short platform that a geyser could propel him to, with another platform blocking the Blackberry from his vision. Regardless, he knew he was there, and a flat-bottomed stalactite hung above that middle platform. Augustus chucked his Gobstopper at the 'tite's bottom, it bounced off and hit the Blackberry in his suspecting head. Augustus rode another geyser onto a different platform, then quickly stomped across a sherbet path along the right wall. The path ended beside the Blackberry's pillar, so Augustus jumped off to deal a knock-out punch against the soldier. A large block sat on this platform, which Augustus could push into the hole beneath the platform. In the room below, it didn't land in a cream pool, but rather a slide that slid the block down to Stewie and Rallo's area.

The two used the block as a boost, then Stewie lifted Rallo onto the higher ground, so he could get closer to the cream pools and create higher geysers. Augustus could get onto the highest platform and eat a Fudgepuffsicle. He inflated roundly and drifted upward through a tunnel on the ceiling. Aside from the Spiny Creamy Buzzies floating around, Augustus avoided the big droplets of cream that would weigh him down, and cause him to burp out his Fudgepuff before he made it. Regardless, he avoided the obstacles and burped to normal width at the top of this peak. From here, he overlooked an extremely long, vertical cream wall, which would "U" turn up another, parallel wall. A crystal patch of Rock Candy grew close by. Augustus took a piece and encased himself in the blackish-purple sphere. He smirked with excitement.

At full speed, Augustus rolled down the wall in the Rock Candy, past the "U" bend in a second, and raced several meters up the opposite wall with the momentum. Not too far, of course, but he could thankfully land the Rock Candy on a small path leading further up the mountain. He was surprised the crystal could remain stable in the slipperiness, but he still had to keep balance. He squished Cream Goombas that were in his way, then arrived at another, though more narrow U-slope. He kept his sphere perfectly aligned, rolled down, and launched high enough to land in another U-slope, then once in the air, he had to shift his weight backward to land in the one behind, then that U-slope landed him on the next path.

This road was smaller in width and had creamballs rolling down, requiring Augustus to take cover in the enclosings that were as round as his Rock Candy. Rolling up the slope was a pain for that reason, but worth it in the end when he made it. Augustus stopped his crystal against a stalagmite, then stomped his clamber boot against to break himself free. From here, Augustus marched up the sherbet wall, his vision soon blocked by the creamy clouds. He could already smell it: the Sun Cream, loveliest of all toppings. Beyond these clouds, the golden sun in the blue sky, blessing the cream with eternal warmth. …Clearly the scent was in his head. (End song.)

Because when Augustus made it above the clouds and stepped on right-side-up ground, the scent of rotting cream hit his nose. Augustus crossed the bridge that led to the pool of Sun Cream. It was a dry, brownish color, and smelled as though it had been left sitting out for ages. The lollipop fell from his mouth when Augustus gaped. He bent down for a closer look. The Sun Cream was almost completely decayed. No way this was unnatural. "Why…Why would anyone… _do_ this?"

"Simple, really." Augustus stood up with a start. A woman with a horrid smell, filthy and messy brown hair, flies buzzing around her, and wearing a brown leather suit that hasn't been washed for days, stepped out from behind a decayed pillar. "Lord Licorice _wanted_ it this way."

Augustus clutched his Gobstopper, ready to break some teeth. "Who are you?"

"Lord Licorice's Number Three: Veruca Salt. _I_ ruined the Sun Cream, because he wanted me to. He wanted me to because I'm spoiled rotten. Anything I touch becomes spoiled and rotten. Like the air." Augustus backed away when the stench around her grew stronger.

"Euh. Are you a poisonbender?"

"Hm hm, no." She smiled wryly and shook her head. "I ate the Rot-Rot Fruit. I wanted it, because it was rotten, like me."

"A Devil Fruit? Did you steal those from the Big Mom Pirates? !"

"I don't care where Lord Licorice got them. I wanted one. He doesn't want people getting in his way. He wants me…" Veruca slowly approached him with a menacing smile, "to make you ro-"

Augustus hurled the Gobstopper at her face, knocking her down before it bounced back. He stared at the untainted, shiny red sphere. The sunlight bounced off it, and to his sunglasses. "Unlucky for you, Gobstoppers never go sour. Then again…" He looked at the Sun Cream pool. "Neither should this've."

Veruca got up and growled spitefully at him. They both looked up at the sound of some whirring. Veruca grinned madly at the small aircraft with cinnamon roll propellers. "Ah-ha. I wanted her to show up. I wanted us to capture you together."

"How is that thing flying, the air should be too creamy." Augustus stated.

"Our Cinnamon Ships are protected by their sugary glitter. They're kept sticky and dry. Not like you." Veruca channeled her power and spread the awful smell around the air. Augustus clamped his nose and mouth shut, trying to back away from the spoiled woman. The Cinnamon Ship hovered over him, and a very long and rubber-like woman, with purple skin, hair, and jumpsuit, dropped down, grabbed Augustus's shoulders, and wrapped her body around him like a rubber snake. "Meet Violet Beauregarde. She's very flexible. She ate the Flex-Flex Fruit. We're friends."

 _"Best_ friends!" Violet grinned.

"Knock him out, Violet. I want Lord Licorice to see him blacker than blackberry."

"Okay, Friend!" Violet stretched her head in front of his, and despite the boy's struggling, his world went black with a headbash.

"Augustus?" Rallo yelled into his communicator. "'ey, Augustus, where are you? O Captain, my captain!"

"Those clouds shouldn't be blocking our com links." Stewie said, looking up the mountain he saw Augustus venture up. "Maggie, do you see anything?"

The girl zoomed her vision closer to the clouds, but they were much too thick to see through. However, she spotted brown, glittery dust raining from above a patch of clouds, steadily moving forward. "Mw-mw!"

"What is it?" Rallo asked, looking up as well.

"Perhaps we should return to the _Ace Flyer_." Stewie said with concern. "Quick, let's go!"

The Cinnamon Ship was flying to another such vessel, of incomprehensible size and cinnamon roll propellers that could hypnotize people. A shadowed figure stood in the control room window. Any person that saw this ship, and saw this figure, flying toward them, their hearts would chill like ice cream in the back of the freezer. Lord Tyrone Licorice.

 **Orchid Bay Park**

Wendy finished putting the last tiny Band-Aid over a snake bite. Her body was partly covered with the little bandages, one on her right cheek, a few on her arms, on her left foot… of course, there were other magic maladies that Facilier fixed himself. She stared at her reflection in the fountain water, sitting on its edge. Looking at her own sad face. Her first magic lesson was a flop. And she was so sure of herself. She pulled out her Lamia Scale wand to stare at it. It looked pretty next to the fountain. Shiny. She felt its mystic power the moment she picked it up, but why didn't it work for her? Unless she was just bad at using it. Dr. Facilier taught her that the wand chooses the wizard, but she wondered if it could change its mind. She would feel so pathetic if it up and did that.

She heard a light flapping of wings, and saw Carla's reflection look over beside her own. "You're still new at it, so don't let it get to you."

"Carla, I told you I wanted to be alone."

"I left you alone for a good half-hour. That should be more than enough time to cool down."

"No it isn't…" She propped her elbow on her leg, resting her head in her hand.

"Wendy, if it's any consolation, you're a very good airbender. You probably didn't start off so great in your younger years."

"All I've really been good at is running away. And I always run away because I make trouble for everyone."

"I haven't often seen you without your Stabilizers, but it's hard to imagine you making trouble for anyone, the way you mess up and apologize for everything."

Wendy blushed, smiling sheepishly at her. "If you met me a little before I met Dr. Facilier, you would see why everyone hated me."

"At the very least, I can imagine people being annoyed with you if you blew wind all the time. There's a difference between 'annoyance' and 'hate.'"

"Heheh… Thanks, I guess. …" She looked at the park's clock. 12:05. "Only an hour until June shows up. …I think I'll rest."

"May I join you?"

"Okay."

Wendy and Carla went under a tree, shaded by its rustling leaves. Wendy pulled off her shoes and took off her contacts. "Wanna hold these for me?" she asked Carla.

The cat stared at her red eyes for a minute. Wendy noticed how Carla's narrowed eyes inched more open. "…Why do you always give me that look when you see my eyes?"

Carla shook her head after this was pointed out. "What look?"

"That, what you just did. Carla, do my real eyes creep you out?"

"Of course not, they're just… unusual, Child. You have to admit that."

"You're calling _me_ unusual, go back and look in that fountain!"

Carla felt a tug in her heart. She turned away. "W-Wait, Carla, I didn't mean that, I'm sorry!"

"No, you're right… It was wrong of me to point out your eyes when _nothing_ in this town is natural. Perhaps you do need more time for yourself." She walked away toward a different tree.

Wendy sighed and laid down on the grass, folding her hands under her head as she faced her own tree. She lay there for a long time, but couldn't force herself to sleep. She felt bad about what she said to Carla, one of the few and longer-lasting friends she had, the last thing she wanted was to make bad tensions. But she also thought about her eyes. Facilier made her wear contacts so she didn't draw attention, or make people connect her with her unnamed father. But her blue hair drew more attention, it was more recognizable in the posters, why not cover that up? Was Facilier secretly afraid of her eyes? Carla, too, why else would she make that look? Lee Andrew told her that she shouldn't have to hide them, but he seemed to be one of few people that would say that. People seem to like her better with brown eyes. And normal ears.

"Wendy! There you are!" She heard footsteps running over and looked back. June and Monroe were coming.

"Oh! Is it 1:00 already?" Wendy stood up and put on her strap-on shoes.

"12:40, but I got done early. (By telling Ray Ray I would give him my allowance.) …Wendy, what's with all those bandages?"

"Oh." Wendy just remembered. "Um… some monsters tried to eat me, so I had to fight them."

"Really? Why didn't my bracelet go off?" June stared at her brown wristband with a purple emblem.

"Great McGregor's Ghost! What's with your eyes?" Monroe exclaimed.

Wendy started. She put her contacts in her own bag after Carla left, and hadn't put them on. "Uuuum… This is how I actually look." She confessed. "I wear contacts so that… so I don't scare people."

"Oh…" June frowned, noting Wendy's downtrodden expression. She must've been sensitive about this topic. "You know, why don't I teach you how to fight later? How 'bout we just hang out?" She spoke with an open smile. "Both of us seem pretty tired."

Wendy looked up and smiled. "That would be fun, sure!"

"Uuuugh. Then I guess I brought _Art of Te Xuan Ze_ , Volume 2 for nothing." Monroe sighed in annoyance, closing his book. "Ay hope you girls don't expect ME to join you on your shopping spree?"

Wendy looked at the other tree, where Carla was still sitting and turned away. "Mr. Montagail-"

"Monroe."

"Sorry- Do you think you could talk to my friend, Carla over there? It would be nice if she had another talking animal to talk to."

"I dunno, Wendy, dogs kinda hate cats either way." June smiled unsurely.

"Ahh, poppycock. Ay'm not your everyday mongrel, ya know." Monroe told her gruffly, walking toward Carla. "Ay can reason with a simple housecat. (That's not to say Mittens can make a good excuse why we can't share the fire hydrant. Ay-ay-ay…)"

 **Downtown; Lucy's Alley**

Juniper and Wendy went for a walk down a secret road that non-magic beings couldn't find, populated by harmless demons, and a good place to hide from the G.U.N.. Both girls bought a protein shake at a stand, slurping the sweets while Wendy continued her story. "Then out of nowhere, Dr. Facilier and his wife, Rouge showed up. They told me I was a wizard and I'd been accepted to Hogwarts. I've never been happier before that moment." Wendy smiled at the memory. "I felt like I was closer to learning who I was."

"I still don't understand the part about that wind curse." June mentioned. "If it's so bad, why does the air feel fine now?"

"Because Dr. Facilier gave me these." Wendy lifted the right of her shirt, showing the white, rectangle sticker with Japanese symbols. "They're Chi Stabilizers that keep my airbending from going crazy. If I took them off, this town would be really windy."

"And your wind would attract a storm?" June asked. Wendy nodded. "Wow. That would seem like a bad thing to have."

"Yeah." Wendy looked down. "That's why the orphanage kicked me out. And why I couldn't stay in one town for too long, and why those Government people are trying to capture me." Though she didn't tell (nor understand) the whole reason behind that last. "Because I blow people's stuff around and almost get them hurt and ruin their day."

"Hey, quit feeling sad!" June perked up and punched her shoulder. "You don't have to worry about it now, do you?"

"Yeah, I guess not." Wendy passed her a soft smile. "So, tell me about yourself, June. What's it like fighting monsters every day?"

June frowned just then. She stared at her half-empty protein shake. "The thing is, Wendy, I'm under a curse, too."

"You… are?"

Juniper was leading Wendy to the edge of town as she told the story. "The whole tradition of the Te Xuan Ze started nearly 1500 years ago. The job usually gets passed to the newest descendant of my family. Ah-Mah was the last one, but the power skipped my dad and went to me. I'm actually the youngest in my family history."

"What about Ray Ray?"

"Heh heh. There's a funny story behind that." June smirked. "Anyway, it was my ancestors that created the Veil over this town, but the ancient Magic Council wanted to ensure that we would always control the bad demons coming in. So an inherited curse gets passed on to the next Te Xuan Ze."

They arrived at a sign over the road that said, _Now leaving Orchid Bay. Ignore anything you might've seen._ "This is the edge of the Veil. Walk through."

Curious, Wendy calmly walked forward. She saw some strange lizard monsters clutching the cliff wall on the right. The world blurred for a minute, those monsters disappeared, as Wendy was through the Veil. She turned back to June with a confused look. "Now watch." June walked toward her—the Veil pushed her back.

Wendy gasped. As June put her hand against the Veil, the former reached an arm back through. Wendy felt nothing. "You see? The Te Xuan Ze can _never_ leave Orchid Bay." June spoke with regret. "Until I have a child, and the Mark of Te Xuan Ze appears on them," she noted the dark-pink strip on her hair, "…I'm stuck here. Every summer, my friends go on holidays with their families, and I'm not allowed to go because I have to stay and fight monsters! And even while they're here, I'm always putting them off because I gotta fight monsters. Wendy, I'm sorry for all the bad things that happened to you, but…but you get to run anywhere you want to. Heh, I'm kind of jealous." June smiled at the irony.

Wendy softly waved her hand around the Veil, entranced by its blurry appearance, but feeling nothing still. June had a point. While Wendy always wished for a home or a place to stay, the feeling of running with the wind was lovely. She felt free. Well, she would, if not for her own curse. It was kind of funny when she thought about it. Wendy was homeless, but free to go wherever, June had a home, but could go nowhere else. "I'm sorry to hear that, Juniper. But what if the Veil got taken down? Could you leave?"

"Yeah, but you can't just take it down!" she exclaimed logically. "Then there would be worse chaos than what's already happening! Sigh… I really don't like it, either, but it's the way it has to be." She shrugged. "I wouldn't know how to begin tearing it down."

Wendy looked sympathetically. June was right, the people here are so used to the Veil, if all these demons suddenly appeared out of nowhere, then it wouldn't look good. She really wished there was a way around this for her friend. "…" She glared confidently and balled her fists, "June, I wanna learn how to fight now."

 **Minutes later**

"Show me how hard you can punch!" June yelled at Wendy vigorously, her own hands positioned in defense. The two ventured into the nearby forest to train, and Wendy was rapidly thrusting her fists against June's hands. The Te Xuan Ze already noted her speed, but, "Not the strongest I've felt. Show me your kicks." Wendy began kicking her legs up at the girl's chest, June blocking each kick with her fists, but the Te Xuan Ze was pushed back a little. "Okay, now I'll do you, try to block me!" June swung her fists, Wendy tried to block with her hands, but June easily maneuvered around for "soft" punches against Wendy's chest, afterwards kicking the airbender several feet. "You'll have to work faster than that."

Wendy recovered, "I'm afraid of hurting you. That's why."

June smiled coolly and- "HUAH!" punched a dent into a tree. "Trust me, you won't. Let's try something different, like…like your airbending! Let's see how tough you are with that!"

Wendy got back into fighting gear, inhaled a breath, and blasted a Cyclone Roar. June withstood the wind and dashed forward, surprising Wendy when she whipped behind and wrapped arms around the blue-haired girl. "Is that all? I've felt fans that blew harder than you!"

Wendy jumped and kicked against June, blowing herself away. June smirked as Wendy ran far away though the forest. She was coming back at full speed with a fist held back, so June kicked off a tree, flew at Wendy like a rocket, and both their fists made contact. "Ow ow ow!" Wendy shook her hand from the pain.

"Tell ya what. You can have the next punch for free." June offered.

Wendy glared at her. She took several quick steps back and started spinning her right arm, forming a wind circle. Wendy sidestepped behind a distant tree, slowing her arm and focusing the wind to spiral around her fist. She pulled out the Lamia Scale under her shorts, taking a breath. "Please work for me this time."

 _In April, Dr. Facilier showed Wendy and Carla an ordinary rubber ball. He dropped, it made the first bounce, when it returned to its highest, "Repiti!" a quick spell, the ball bounced and bounced at the same height every time._

 _"Why isn't it slowing down?" Carla questioned._

 _"The Repeating Spell makes any motion repeat itself over and over. Unless they get too far away, only the wizard can stop it."_

 _Wendy tried to catch the ball in her hand, it simply bounced from there, up to the ceiling. It was a minor spell, but it sure was fun._

With an aura of confidence, Wendy whirled her wand and aimed at the still-spinning whirlwind around her fist. "Repiti!" The wand glowed, and even though she wasn't forcing the wind to spiral with her bending, it continued spinning. With a bright smile, Wendy ran far away again, dashing straight back at June, who would keep her promise and let Wendy have this blow. "Sky Dragon CLAW!" To both of their surprise, June whirled like a windmill as she flew backward, into a distant tree.

"WHOA! How'd you do that? !"

"It's a secret." Wendy winked. She ran at June, leapt, and threw the Cyclone Fist against her opponent's fist. June spun around at the impact, sinking to the ground, but kicked directly up to send Wendy above the branches. She grabbed one in her Cyclone Fist, she swung around the branch, then flew down at Juniper with a kick.

 **The park**

Carla heard Wendy and June talking behind her, but still didn't pay mind. She waited expectantly as Monroe approached her. "Ahhh, good afternoon." The pug greeted her. "Miss Charla, was it?"

"It's Carla. And might I inquire when was the last time you've taken a bath? You smell like you were coughed up by a dung iguana."

"Well, you're just PLEASANT to be around, aren'tcha?" Monroe walked around to her front. "And just how old are you? Seven-thousand? Seventy-five-thousand? ?"

"Three months."

"Ya've got quite the attitude for a WEE kitten."

"And what's your age, dare I ask?"

"Ay'm 650 years old. Raised to serve the Te Xuan Ze, I am trained to know the identity and purpose of every magical item, creature, or spell."

"Okay, Sir Montague, just what kind of creature am I?"

Monroe walked around to study her. "Hmmm. A cat, talks, has wings… Where did you say you came from?"

"An egg Wendy found on the beach."

"Ay have no idea." Carla fell on her side like an unbalanced book. "Look, Lass, let's not get off on the wrong boat. It's not everyday ya meet another talking animal who helps an 11-year-old girl with powers." Monroe slipped out of the satchel wrapped around him, crawled inside, and pulled out a purple magnifying glass with red and blue lens on either side, with red triangle-shaped eyelashes and a triangle in the center—the whole thing looked like an eye. "So how about Monroe educates you? This item, for example-"

"A Lens of Truth, which can see invisible objects or see through illusions." Carla replied knowledgeably. "Specifically, the lenses only see matter for what it is. The red lens, taken from Falcon's Eye specs, ordinarily serve as X-rays, while blue lenses cloak objects depending on size and strength, ergo the two of them together will view only the existent matter."

"Um… right." Monroe switched the lens for a small, Y-shaped antenna with balls on its tips. "This object-"

"A Replicator Wand, one antenna scans the matter of the target, transfers its structure to the other antenna, which alter and mend the molecules in the air to create a solid replica."

"Merlin's False Teeth, woman, how do ya know all this? !"

"Facilier showed them to me and Wendy. The latter has a hard time understanding, but their use is pretty clear to me. Excluding the fact that all the 'magic' behind it is ludicrous."

"Ludicrous, but real. Could ya tell me the workings behind this Infinity Satchel?"

Carla looked at the bag and casually explained, "The spell in place is one that alters dimensions, and the area inside the bag has a different dimension than outside. The spell continuously expands the dimension inside while the outside was never touched. But, again, ludicrous."

"Call it whatcha want, you're a smart kitty!" Monroe beamed. "Honestly, I'd like ya to stay and help me teach Ray Ray."

"Hmm. At the risk of shaming my own kind, I already have an owner. Albeit, we're kind of… awkward at the moment."

"Eh, she'll get over it, it's not easy for humans to admit that animals are smarter than they are. Like badger-moles, even. Speakin' of which, get a load of this device!" Monroe pulled a thin, metal rod that looked like a golf tee, with a pointed tip and ball on its top. He stuck it in the ground. "A portable Seismic Sensor that can feel vibrations from any distance. Perfect against enemies who're trying to sneak up on you. You could set it to 3 feet, for example." Monroe inputted that distance, stamping the ground with his paw as the rod shook slightly. Carla stared with a meagerly interested look. "Or 100 miles!" Monroe typed in that distance. "You could feel an army comin' hours before they do."

… _Woggle-woggle._ The Sensor wobbled left-and-right forcefully. It did it again. Carla raised a brow. "What's it doing?"

A small monitor showed the estimated mass of what made the vibrations. "Ohhhh, that's not good…"

Back in the forest, Wendy had whirlwinds spinning around both fists as she dashed at June for a double-punch. The Te Xuan Ze grabbed Wendy's fists tight, standing her own ground, but Wendy had spun upside-down into the air, swinging her foot down on June's head. They broke free as Wendy was back on her feet, both ready to attack again. _Woh-woh-woh-woh-_ June looked at her wristband when it started beeping. Wendy stared curious at the look June was making. "Hey, Wendy… what does this look like to you?"

Wendy looked at the bracelet's jewel. "It's… some kind of tower?"

 **Several miles within the backwoods…**

"Three more minutes, kids, then we have to go back." Facilier told the twins. They stood a few feet outside the Veil's barrier.

"OKAY!" Sonny and Donna cheered. Facilier turned around, crouched, and the skull on his hat covered his face, he began juggling colorful energy puffballs, and small colorful firecrackers flew around behind him. The twins backed into the Veil, "We see nothing." They walked forward, "WE SEE IT!" Backed up, "We see nothing." Forward, "WHOOOAA!"

Shadow Facilier felt a rumbling. "What is it, Shadow?" The shadow pointed upward excitedly, so Facilier climbed a tree. "…What is that?"

A tremendous tower composed of green metal stomped across the forest with huge, metal crab legs. A laser cannon was implanted within the top, aimed directly at the Veiled City. The commander of such a structure was a witch in a black dress, purple scarf, and artificial body. Her boney, pointy skull head cackled inside its glass container. "Orchid Bay, the Veiled City! Blind to magic, what a pity. That they will never see this coming. Cauldron Keep's mobile gunning! Once I sap the energy from this land, Grunty will live! And this place sand! CAH, _HAHAHAhahahahaaaaa!"_

"I see it, Sonny!" Donna exclaimed, sitting on a tree that was halfway in the Veil.

Sonny used his rope to pull the treetop toward him, in the Veil. "How 'bout now?"

"Nope!" Donna smiled. Sonny released, so the tree began flapping back-and-forth, in and out of the Veil. "I SEE it, I don't, I see it, I don't, I see it!…"

* * *

 **Who remembers Gruntilda from _Firstborn_? She was in _Banjo-Kazooie_? Classic Rareware villain? ? Ah, screw you guys. :P You probably know Veruca and Violet from _Charlie Chocolate Factory_. Next time, Wendy's first boss fight! Parents, don't spoil your kids!**


	5. Unveiled

**Welcome back to the story! I promise not to make it boring. A boss here is what we'll fight. It's time for Wendy to test her might!**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 5: Unveiled_**

 **Orchid Bay; Jasmine's House**

Wendy and June regrouped with Carla and Monroe before running to Ah-Mah's house, where Facilier and the Ice Climbers were already waiting. "You guys! There's something big coming!" June yelled.

"We're already aware." Jasmine replied. "Over there."

They were all led to a clearer area of forest, seeing the imposing tower in the distance. "That's got to be what my Seismic Sensor was feeling." Monroe said.

"We still don't SEE!" the Ice Climbers chorused.

"Ugh." Monroe sighed, reaching into his satchel for two necklaces with tiki designs. "Put these on, you two." He gave them to the twins, and when they put them on, everything became visible.

The twins gasped with terror: "A FLYING CAT! !"

Carla glared at them. "Is there any particular reason you're even with us?"

"NOPE."

"How is that tower moving?" Wendy asked.

"I'd be less concerned about the tower and more about that cannon." Carla pointed out.

"Hold on…" Facilier looked through binoculars. "I recognize that place. It's Cauldron Keep. It belonged to Gruntilda's sisters!"

"Gruntilda?" Jasmine questioned. "You mean she got that engineering degree after all?"

"Well, her _sisters_ did, she does tend to steal their work. That cannon is bad news, though. It can drain all the life energy from a targeted landscape!"

"Orchid Bay is filled with magic _and_ life." Carla said simply. "We must stop that tower before it gets within range!"

"Right." June fist-palmed. "Wendy, let's get on it!"

"Okay!" (Play the Eggman Boss Theme from _Sonic Unleashed_!)

 _Boss fight: Cauldron Keep_

Wendy dashed across the forest with sonic speed while Juniper kept up with a series of terrific leaps across trees. It was only before when they were hurrying through the city Wendy noticed such athletic ability. She didn't need to worry about leaving her behind. When they were merely yards from the mechanical tower, June was ready to land on one of its legs, and Wendy up the side. "WAAAH!" They both were bounced off by an invisible forcefield.

"Nuisances, I'm sorry to say," Gruntilda began, "that you won't be getting in that way. My shield is endlessly flowing. So off with you, I must get going!"

"June, watch out!" Wendy ran by and pulled her friend to safety before a metal claw crushed her. She carried June and ran all the way back to the others. "It has a shield around it!"

"We saw." Carla said worriedly. "And we'll never be able to order an evacuation from something the town can't see."

"I'm going to try." Facilier aimed his cane. "Reducto! Reducto!" He fired several Destructive Spells, seeing the barrier flash on, but left unpenetrated. "Expelliarmus! Disablo!" More spells, the barrier stayed. "Darn!"

"One silly cane isn't going to work!" Ah-Mah stated. "You'd need a wand that can penetrate a shield like that. I believe the store sells a Lamia Scale, but you can't just-"

"M-Miss Ah-Mah!" Wendy spoke eagerly, raising the wand from her shorts. "You mean this Lamia Scale?"

"Harry Potter's Hairnet, how long did ya have that?" Monroe asked with surprise.

"Let me see." Ah-Mah took the pink wand and studied it. "Ah-ha… made of rose quartz, scale from Lamia for a core. Great with support-type magic, as well as breaking defenses. Or so I've heard." She returned it to Wendy. "Where did you get this?"

"From the store you mentioned. It just…" Wendy glanced at it, wondering how to phrase it, "felt right with me, I guess."

"Wendy, can you do a Disabling Charm?" Facilier asked. "Just jab your wand and say, 'Disablo.'"

"I'll try!" With a confident look, Wendy raced toward the tower again, leaping atop a tree. "DISABLO!" She shot the spell, a tiny hole briefly appeared in the barrier, but refilled in less than a second.

"These pesky worms are annoying me!" Grunty yelled. "I'll send my minions to get rid of thee!"

Gruntydactyls and Uggers were dropped out of hatches in the tower, phasing through the forcefield. Uggers – short green monsters with big mouths and strong fists – performed terrific leaps in attempt to smash Wendy, but she raced back to the others. "What is it THIS time?" Carla asked.

Wendy panted for breath. "I almost broke through, but it repairs itself. I could only make a little hole."

"How little, exactly?" Monroe asked.

"I dunno. About maybe this big." She held her hands partly away from her body.

"Carla, if you could fly the two of us in there, we could stop the tower from the inside."

"Well, I can't think of any other options." the cat figured.

"Could you really stop it by yourselves?" Wendy asked.

"We could at least find a way to stop the barrier so you and June could get in. But there's also a matter of keeping it open long enough."

"Wait, the Lamia Scale is strong with support magic." Monroe recalled. "Perhaps Wendy can increase June's strength to weaken the shield."

"Can she do that?" June asked.

"'Course she can, she's mah girl!" Facilier patted Wendy's back, the girl blushing worriedly. "I may have to give her a jumpstart lesson, though. Sonny, Donna, try to slow down that tower!"

"WE'RE ON IT!" The Ice Climbers skied through the forest on ice paths, evasively dodging every tree en route to the tower. They shot ice beams at Gruntydactyls and dodged Uggers' smashes, bashing the big-mouths with their hammers. The twins reunited a few yards from the tower and clapped hands together. "Now we'll show you-!" Sonny began as they channeled their combined Ice Chi.

"-that the twin conquerors of ice-!" Donna continued, a circle of frost forming on the ground.

"-CONTROL THE VERY LANDSCAPE!" And from the ground, an iceberg sprouted up, stretching half as tall as the tower. The Cauldron Keep stopped as Grunty looked confused.

"Strange occurrences are taking place. They aren't slowing down my race. Mortar cannons, make my day. Cease these delays and clear the way!" Hatches opened on the tower, blasting mortar cannons at the iceberg. Sonny and Donna sprouted another one a few yards further, another on Grunty's left, then the right.

"Do you got it, Wendy?" Facilier asked, after instructing her.

"Um…" Wendy looked nervously at June, "Maybe you should do it, Mr. Facilier."

"I like to give children gifts, but my cane ain't 'supportive.' You heard what Jasmine said, just do it like this!" He performed the wand movement.

"Come on, Wendy, you can do it!" June declared with a pumped-up expression, balling her fists.

"Okay." Wendy focused on June, waved her wand in a circle above herself, then "ARMS!" she zapped a spell on June's arms, then again on her legs.

June stared as both body parts glowed, and she felt power course within her. "Huhu, THIS is what I'm talkin' about!" She smirked eagerly. "Let's TRASH this tower, Wendy!" Both girls bolted through the forest. Uggers punched the bases of trees and caused them to topple in their path, but June used her enhanced strength to punch the trees away, and Wendy ran off a slanted ramp-like rock to go into the air and kick off the swarm of Gruntydactyls. They arrived at one of the Ice Climbers' icebergs, ran up, and flew to the tower as June readied a punch, and Wendy called, "DISABLO!"

A larger hole was broken open, but the girls still hit the barrier and were blown back over the iceberg. They ran away before Gruntilda destroyed the ice. Sonny and Donna quickly froze the ground around the tower, hoping to make its legs slip. "Huff, huff. This is too much work for us." The twins chorused. "Especially in summer."

"Wendy, try to do that again!" Carla yelled, flying while carrying Monroe.

"Okay! You ready, June?"

"Ready!" The Chinese girl leapt for a mighty kick against the barrier, Wendy shot a Disabling Charm, with narrow maneuvering, Carla flew herself and Monroe through the barrier—"AAAAH!" They were blown back and out.

"Good gravy!" Monroe grunted, rubbing his sore back after landing. "The barrier repels anything that's a few inches inside! We'll have to get inside the tower BEFORE it fixes itself!"

"But I don't see any openings!" Wendy yelled. "Except maybe up by that cannon."

"Let's run back to Dr. Facilier!" June said, so the girls returned through the forest, carrying their respective pets. They found the witch-doctor again, "Mr. Facilier, me and Wendy need to break an opening-"

"Monroe, is it safe for him to be doing that?" Facilier asked, gesturing with his thumb. June and Monroe gaped: Ray Ray was slowly guiding a Racatan by dropping chips on the ground.

The giant brown rat had a mellow expression as it sniffed each treat and munched. "I'll have to keep you a secret from June and Monroe for a while, but they'll be comfortable in time, so don't worry-"

"RAY RAY!" The boy flinched at Monroe's shout. "What in Dumbledore's name are ya DOING, Lad? ! The town is in danger and you're trying to tame a feral BEAST!"

"He's not feral! Marvin's a good monster, aren't you?" He gently petted Racatan's head.

"Wendy, what's up with the barrier now?" Facilier asked.

"Um, we need to break an opening in the tower, too, otherwise they can't get in."

Raising a brow, Facilier looked at the Racatan. "Say no more!" He smirked. "Uncle Facilier's got this!" Fearlessly, the witch-doctor ran up to the creature, jumped high, and landed atop the Racatan's head, planting his long shoes against its sides. He clutched his cane in his teeth, hands folded above his head, and he began to sway his head.

A fast, mystical music started playing, a banjo-like strumming one would hear down the bayou. The Racatan's eyes turned colorful and spinning, bright colorful, sharply-drawn designs spiraled around him: the Racatan was hypnotized. _"RAAAAAH!"_ He stood on his hind-legs and roared, then began jigging his hip to the tune. On all fours, Racatan started dashing to the tower. "Wendy, cast that charm on his head!" he yelled quickly, then resumed jigging to control the creature.

Quickly, Wendy ran to keep ahead of him, watching Racatan tear through puny Uggers and trees. "Arms!" Wendy got in front, shot the spell at its head, and moved aside. June caught up with her, holding Carla and Monroe, releasing the animals before hurrying to Facilier. It was then they noticed an oddly-designed part of the tower's front—a sealed drawbridge, and the Racatan was going for it. June leapt, punched that part of barrier, Wendy shot Disablo, and Facilier jumped off the enhanced Racatan, who broke a larger hole, rammed the drawbridge with its horns, and it fell open before the rat flew out.

Wendy and June pierced the barrier again, Carla and Monroe flew in, past the drawbridge, and weren't forced back out. They caught their breath after landing on the metal floor. Giant gears and up/down pumps were inside. "Well, we're in." Carla said. "Do you have any plans? We are only animals after all."

"And yet, you're a catch. Ay may look like a filthy mongrel to you, but I can do magic." Monroe pulled a brown stick wand with a blue gem at its top out of his satchel. "Reducto!" He blasted at a gear, but it went undamaged. "What? ! Is this place magically protected from the inside?"

 _"HIEEEE!"_ Guvnors spotted them, pink-skinned Gruntlings wearing yellow plumber jumpsuits, wielding large wrenches. Carla Torpedo Spun and knocked them away, and some tried to whack her in the air, leaving Monroe to stun them with spells. The cat regrouped with the dog and said, "We at least have to stop this thing from moving. These pumps obviously control the legs, judging by their movement."

"You just saw, Lass, my spells bounce off this machinery!" Monroe reminded.

"We have to try, come on!" Carla carried Monroe over to a pump. She watched the device shift up and down. "Is there a spell to loosen bolts or something?"

"What good would that do?"

"It's basic engineering, nuts and bolts keep machines together. What, does your magic not teach you that?"

"Fine, ya brain the size of a gopher! Spinneroo!" Monroe held his wand forward, whirled it in a close circle quickly, and zapped a screw, it spun rapidly and came out. "It worked!"

"Keep it up!" Carla smiled eagerly. Monroe repeated the spell and spun each screw and bolt from its latch. The tower shook and tilted, so the animals moved on to the next pump, then the others.

Wendy, June, and the others gaped with joy when the tower's mechanical claws faltered. The structure threatened to topple over any second. "I knew those legs were no good!" Gruntilda declared. "That's why I had THESE under the hood!" And to everyone's shock and horror, bulldozer-like tracks appeared from its bottom sides. It continued its drive to Orchid Bay.

"BLAST IT ALL!" Monroe swore. "Ugh, we have to find the barrier generator!"

"What's that area up there?" Carla asked, pointing at a small opening on the ceiling.

"Let's check it out." Monroe put his wand away and allowed Carla to fly them into the hatch. He grabbed his wand and blasted the Guvnors senseless, and they felt an invisible force through the air as they made it to a central chamber. A gigantic magnet was strapped to a machine, whose large mechanical pipes transmitted energy from it through the walls. "Gryffindor's Ghost! She must be using the magnet's repellant energy to make the barrier."

"Do you know any fire-type spells? You can spin the magnet's electrons out of control and-"

"Ay at least know how a MAGNET works, Bookworm! Sigh, Ay just hope this works." Monroe whirled his wand and yelled, "Ventus Tria Incendio!" A huge, flaming whirlwind sprouted from the wand and set fire to the magnet. The machine sparked and began to falter.

The girls watched from outside when the barrier flashed and disappeared completely. "Now's our chance, Wendy!" June exclaimed as they both ran up the track-wheels and leapt into the drawbridge entrance. The girls threw spells and punches at each Gruntling on their way up the tower. Going up stairs was no problem for Wendy's speed and June's athletic jumping. In no time, the girls made it into a chamber with a giant machine, attached to a laser cannon that aimed out of the window. "This must be it. You ready to make scrap of this thing, Wendy?" June spoke readily.

"I sure am!" Wendy clutched her wand tight. "Just name a spot and we'll-"

A glass capsule suddenly encased the girls. June punched and kicked it, but left nary a crack. "What the heck? !" A crane lifted their capsule up through the ceiling, and they soon found their selves on the roof.

"Surprise, surprise, what have we here?" They both gasped: Gruntilda was seated in the cockpit of a digger with a giant drill. "Two beautiful little dears! I'll save and keep you nice and fresh. When I'm revived, I'll have your beauty and flesh!" Gruntilda locked onto the girls, intending to hit their capsule with a missile (if they get too damaged, she can repair their bodies later).

June frantically bashed the glass. "Know any good spells, Wendy? !"

"No, but I have an idea." Wendy lifted her shirt and grabbed her Chi Stabilizers. "I'm sorry in advance if I hurt you. Please, hold onto these." She peeled the stickers off and passed them to her friend. Wendy huffed and blew a powerful gust of wind, pushing June against the glass, it became harder to breathe the more Wendy blew. Unable to withstand the pressure, the glass shattered, and June was blown against the glass dome surrounding the roof while Wendy dodged the missile.

Gruntilda grunted in anger, but then began to feel the tower sway. "Meeeh? The wind has picked up outside. The unsteady ground makes this an unsafe ride. Right here is where I'll park. When B.O.B. finishes charging, this land will go dark!"

With that, Cauldron keep stopped and parked tight on the current ground. The wind continued to shift the rotatable tower as the cannon charged a sickly green laser. The whole of Orchid Bay was targeted, save for having to move toward the center over and over because of the wind.

"Crud! We'll never be able to stop that cannon in time!" June yelled. Grunty's Hag 1 drill was currently spinning in place, forcing the girls to jump its extracted lasers.

Wendy felt a rising ill feeling in her stomach. She felt the tower turning left-and-right. "No, but if I can get outside, I could make it fire someplace else." With that, Wendy boosted and began running along the side of the dome in circles. "Try to get me up here, Bonehead! …If that's some kind of physical condition of yours, I'm sorry for offending, I'm not good at taunting."

"Way to scare her, Wendy." June remarked sarcastically, lazily dodging lasers.

"At least I don't have a gut!" Grunty shook with anger. "I'll shoot you down, you little mutt!" She loaded another missile, trying to lock the speeding girl in her sights. Grunting, she fired, and a hole was broken in the glass.

Thinking quickly, Wendy ran out the hole, shifted her sideways body the opposite way, and ran on the side of the dome before stopping at the top. "Please let this work!" Holding her arms forward and open, Wendy spun in place, channeling the wind to follow her. A light tornado was forming around the top of the tower, the cannon couldn't focus itself on the town. Facilier, Ray Ray, and the twins watched from afar, feeling anxious as the green light grew brighter on the cannon's tip. But as the wind kept blowing, the direction was averted away from the town at a near 88 degrees. The Big-O-Blaster fired, and a large area of forest was turned black and lifeless. The laser ceased after all of it was extinguished.

"ALL RIIIIIGHT!" Facilier cheered, Ray Ray leaped, the twins high-fived. "THAT'S mah girl!"

Wendy stopped spinning, feeling both relieved and dizzy. Before she could contemplate if she hit any animals or travelers, she lost balance and fell over the dome. "I got you!" Carla caught the child under her arms in her paws.

"Thanks, Carla." Wendy smiled weakly, with a desire to throw up. The kitten flew her back inside the dome.

"NO NO no!" Gruntilda cried. "My target missed! You girls have gotten me really pissed! I'll charge again and have your town gone! Just as soon as I HAVE WON!" The witch whirled her arms, conjuring a pink and powerful sphere of energy above her. She focused on June and _BKKOOM_ , a sudden pink bolt of lightning shot every second, the Te Xuan Ze evasively avoided.

"Carla… h-help June…" Wendy spoke dizzily.

"How do you expect me to…?" Carla focused on Gruntilda, observing her spell: the energy ball started small, increased in size, fired a lightning bolt, then repeated from small size. Carla let Wendy lean against the dome, and with careful timing, the winged cat Torpedo Spun and bonked the witch.

"ACK!" Gruntilda stumbled, looking angrily at Carla, but- "DAAAAH! The spell! I dropped it!" She panicked when the energy sphere hit the floor of her cockpit, still increasing in size. "Bears, birds, cats, dogs, I HATE TALKING ANIMAAAAALS!"

June leapt, grabbed Carla, grabbed Wendy over her shoulder, and leaped out of the dome's hole, dropping toward the drawbridge where Monroe stood. She landed, the dog hopped on her back, and June made terrific leaps across the forest as the tower trembled. They regrouped with their friends near Ah-Mah's house, and witnessed Cauldron Keep's final moments. The top of the tower vanished in a pink explosion.

 _"EEEEH-EEEEH-EEEEEH-EEEEEEHHH!"_ Gruntilda's chubby figure flew across the sky toward town like a shooting star, leaving a trail of smoke. Somewhere in the city, they don't know where, she crashed. What remained of Cauldron Keep fell to its side thanks to the wind. (End song.)

"WE DID IT, WE DID IT!" Sonny and Donna jumped and belly-bumped.

"THAT WAS SO AWESOME!" Ray Ray 'fived the twins as well. "We saved the day! And it's all thanks to me and Marvin!" He looked at his tamed Racatan, who was still woozy in the head.

"Aye, but we would have been toast if not for that whirlwind." Monroe said. "That's some crazy airbending you have, girl."

"I know, it kicked BUTT!" June hugged Wendy—her still-enhanced fists crushed her back. "Whoops. Sorry."

"It's okay." She replied with a forced, dizzy smile. Facilier cast a spell to turn off June's fists. "Oh, and you might want these back." June remembered, handing Wendy her Stabilizers. She stuck them back onto her waist.

That's when Ah-Mah ran to them in a hurry. "Grandma, you MISSED it!" Ray Ray exclaimed. "That tower had a shield, but Marvin ran up to it like DONG, then the cannon was gonna fire, but the whirlwind went _bwoo bwoo bwoo bwoo_ , and then it—"

"Which way did that cannon fire? !" Ah-Mah yelled with anger.

Wendy's heart started, recovering from her dizziness. "I-It shot that way." She pointed, though they couldn't see the ruined region through the trees. "I wanted to aim it away from town, s-so I picked a part of forest."

"Ah-Mah, what's wrong?" June asked.

The elder sighed, pinching between her eyes. "No, it wasn't your fault, dear, you had no other option."

"W-What wasn't my fault?" Wendy asked, feeling her pride shift to sadness.

"I just watched the news. There's a widespread panic from monsters appearing around town. None of you could have known, but… the place where that cannon fired had one of the Veil's power stones stationed there!"

Wendy gasped loudly. "S-So that means…?"

The screaming reached their ears in seconds. Everyone bolted toward town. Humans were running and screaming from the clear-as-day monsters, and monsters were running from humans that tried to kill them. People jumped out of windows, wrecked cars, Orchid Bay had never seen this much chaos. GUN jeeps and copters swarmed in, furiously blasting machineguns at the demons while trying to round the humans into safety.

"This is awful!" Wendy cried. "What have I done? !"

"Don't blame yourself, Child, you saved the town!" Carla stated.

"But look what's happening! This town'll end up destroying itself!"

"That's not gonna be our problem now." Facilier informed. "If we don't get outta here, we may have more than GUN troops to deal with."

"I'm going into town to try to get things under control." Ah-Mah declared, running off. "June, Monroe, come with me." They ran to join her-

"JUNE, wait!" Wendy grabbed the girl's shoulder.

"What is it?"

"June, the Veil's down! This means you can go!" At this, June put on a look of realization. "You can come with us if you want! You can help work at Facilier's shop, and we can go on adventures together!"

June actually contemplated for a moment. Wendy looked really eager for her decision. June turned back to Ray, Monroe, and Ah-Mah, all looking expectant. …June shook her head. "Wendy, I can't go now. These people need a Te Xuan Ze more than ever!"

"But…But you've always wanted to be free. Didn't you?"

"Of course I do." June smiled comfortingly, touching her friend's shoulder. "But it just can't be. This…This is my responsibility. But it's alright, because I still have friends and family here. Maybe not during summer, but…"

Wendy looked down sadly. "I understand. But… could I come visit you again?"

"Let's hope so!" June punched her chest. "But if you do, be able to take a punch!" Wendy smiled and chuckled.

"Everyone in the Apparizone, kids!" Facilier yelled, hugging the twins, Carla, and Wendy to him. "We're goin'!" In a flash, they were gone from the Lees' view. Wendy felt her stomach compress, the world spinning in this Apparition.

She landed on her front on the alleyway ground. They were in front of Facilier's shop. The witch-doctor unlocked the door as Wendy stood, holding her cramped and twisted stomach. "M-Mr. Facilier? C-Could I have another Troia Charm?"

Facilier sighed. "A Troia Charm loses its appeal on the same person if used too much. Just tough it out, Wendy, we'll save them when it's important."

Carla helped escort Wendy into the shop as the child held her tummy. She seized the chance to sit down at the table, awaiting the barf that would never come. "You never even had breakfast." Facilier chuckled. "I'll cook you something to eat." He patted her back. "You deserve it, girl."

She gave a weak smile, hunched over and holding her stomach. Carla stood in front and smiled proudly. "You did an amazing job today, Wendy. That town would've been doomed without you."

"It's kind of doomed thanks to me, too." the girl reminded.

"It isn't your fault that those hooligans can't control their selves." Carla stated with a disapproving scowl for Orchid Bay's citizens. "You should be very proud of yourself."

Wendy reflected on their trip. Carla was right. Wendy made a new friend, and helped her save the town, using her own skills. For the first time, she felt like she helped people. A real accomplishment. She was very proud. "…Hey, Carla? I'm really sorry about what I said." She frowned.

"You're still holding on to that? I'm not upset, Wendy."

"But I shouldn't have said that. You're one of the only friends I have, Carla, and you're in the same boat as me. I don't want things to be weird between us."

"I forgive you, Child. And, I'm sorry… if I looked at you strangely." Carla frowned and turned away. "I don't know what about your eyes scares me. Perhaps it is because they make you look like a monster." She looked up at Wendy, "So if I show distaste in your eyes for any reason, it is because you are not actually a monster, you are a very kind girl who never deserved any curse or treatment as if you were one. Those red eyes of yours are very misleading for what's inside. Is that alright with you, Wendy?"

"Heheh. It is, Carla." Wendy reached under her shorts and picked up her Lamia Scale. "My first wand… I hope my parents are proud of me."

Facilier brought Wendy some tea to settle her stomach, giving some to Carla, too. He set steak and mashed potatoes on the table for the three kids to eat, and a cooked fish for Carla (she felt oddly repulsed while eating it), revitalizing after an exhausting day. "Mister Facilier?" Wendy spoke, after her sickness died down. "Um… I really wanted to thank you for…for helping me today. You were an excellent teacher."

"Mah pleasure, Wendy." The witch-doctor smiled, reorganizing items on the shelves. "You're an excellent student."

"Thanks." She smiled back, not lifting her head up. "…Sniff."

Carla saw her red eyes trembling. "What's the matter, Wendy?" At this, Facilier and the Climbers looked over as well.

"N-Nothing." Wendy tried to repress her tears. "I-It's just… ever since I began working here, I've never felt more happy. I was all alone for my whole life. When I hurt Lee Andrew by mistake, I thought I would never make another friend. But then Mister and Mrs. Facilier came, a-and then I found Carla… sniff."

"We all know the story, Wendy." Facilier chuckled lightly. "You don't have to keep refreshing it."

"But if I hadn't met you, I…I would be all alone." A sniffle. "And I just don't think… I could've survived on my own. S-So it's really nice to know that… I matter to someone." Her tears were falling. "Mister Facilier… thank you for giving me a home. I'm sorry if I'm whining too much, or if I give you a hard time, or if I'm-"

The witch-doctor got to his knees and hugged the child close. He was so tall that his head was still inches over the seated girl. "Not at all, Wendy. If I wasn't under your daddy's orders, I would've adopted you. No child deserves to go through what you did."

Another sniffle. "I really wanna believe that… my parents had a good reason for leaving me. After all of this, if my parents don't want me back… will you let me stay here?"

"Of course, Wendy, everyone needs a home to come back to."

"Do you promise?" Wendy asked with a sniffle. "'C-Cause, I don't wanna make things hard for you, I-I just don't wanna be abandoned again. Before I met you, I always thought my parents left me 'cause I was a burden, a-and I didn't matter to them at all."

"Wendy, don't say such a thing." Carla stated. "If anything, your parents should have kept you to begin with. You're a delightful child."

"Hah hah, no she isn't!" Facilier had to laugh at that comment. "You're an imperfect child, Wendy. That's why you're perfect."

"CONTRADICTORY!" Sonny and Donna exclaimed, clamping Wendy's shoulders from the sides.

"I can't disagree with you, Harvey." Carla shrugged, hugging Wendy's legs. "But you really need to stop crying, Child."

She calmed down. Wendy felt a warmth in her heart. Mr. Facilier, Sonny, Donna, Carla… she always wondered what having friends or family would feel like. …It was the greatest feeling ever. "Sniff… thanks, guys." Facilier used a napkin to wipe her tears off. She forced a smile and chuckle, "I'm sorry for making this too dramatic. I'll try to control myself, I promise."

"I know you will, Child." Facilier sat up, patting her shoulder. "How 'bout you take a nap after supper? I think all of us need a rest after all that."

So after their bellies were full, they climbed the ladder to the bedroom. Sonny and Donna threw off their coats and settled comfily, and Wendy took off her shoes before getting under the covers. Carla laid on Wendy's chest. "Carla… Mr. Facilier keeps mentioning my dad, but… what do you think my mom was like?"

Carla thought for a minute as she was getting comfortable. "In my personal opinion, she should've been the proudest mother in the world."

 **Orchid Bay**

Humans and demons were screaming and running everywhere. June, Ray Ray, and Monroe stood in the middle of the chaos, looking around frantically. "Monroe, can't we use one of those wide-range Memory Staffs? !" June yelled.

"You know we can't use that without affecting the whole world!" Monroe replied. "Besides, it won't be long now. Any moment, the Magic Council will-"

Storm clouds appeared in the sky. At first, June thought of Wendy's wind curse. However, a cyan light shone through the clouds. A bright ray of light burst through the center and struck the ground. Everybody turned and stared with awe and worry.

A troupe of fairy soldiers appeared, and their commander, a huge, muscular fairy with a green sleeveless shirt and camouflage pants. "CITIZENS OF ORCHID BAY!" his thick German voice echoed. "This town is under restricted protection by the Avalaran Magic Council! I am Jorgen von Strangle, toughest fairy in the universe, and until this city is repaired to working order, you all will be sealed within a Fairy Sphere. Furthermore, we will wipe everyone's memories of these events." He held up a small, pink bar with a light. "But first, the culprits who destroyed the Veil must be punished. No one is to move or leave town until we find them!"

Two fairies with strict expressions carried Gruntilda to him, dropping her on the ground. Jorgen towered over the witch imposingly. "I was involved, I will admit!" she spoke defensively. "But the whole punishment, I should not get!" She looked around, then grabbed a fallen wanted poster, showing it to him. "This girl with hair as blue as sea! She blew up my tower and destroyed the Veil, not me!"

Jorgen picked up the poster and glared at it. A girl with deep blue hair and red eyes, passing a brief glance at her photographer. He heard her name before.

 _"Ollivander, for the last time," Jorgen told the shop owner not too long ago, "the only leetle girl who can hold the Fairy's Tail is the Fairy Princess herself! You tell this 'Windy Marvel' that if she wants a wand, she will have to settle with a Pony's Tail, or perhaps twin Pig's Tails," he smirked witfully, "for puny leetle girls like her. Ha! Ha ha ha! Ha!"_

Jorgen squeezed the poster angrily. "BINKY!"

"Yes, Jorgen!" A very short fairy with purple garb, pointy ears, and a bald head saluted frightfully.

"Report this girl to Princess Mavis." He gave Binky the crumpled poster. "Tell her to add extra security around the Fairy's Tail. This girl must be aiming to retrieve it by any means necessary. GO NOW! !" The earth shook.

"YES SIR!" Binky poofed away.

With that, Jorgen clutched his giant King Wand in both hands, raising it skyward. "Until the Veil has returned, you are all under my protection. I now initiate: FAIRY SPHERE!" A golden beam of light blasted to the heavens, stopped high above the city, and swallowed the whole bay inside of a golden ball. The waves washed furiously, the entire sphere shone brighter and brighter. Then… Orchid Bay disappeared. The seaside road led nowhere but an empty enclosing within the landscape.

Miles away from the city, miles above the air, the red-eyed stranger in the blowing black cloak smirked. "Well done… Wendy. You served this town well. Do not feel discouraged. Orchid Bay will yet have its freedom. And once the Fairy's Tail is in your possession… we will be rid of the walls between worlds." He became the wind and blew away.

 **Negaverse; EiznekCm Household**

Nerehc landed in the front yard of his house with Egroeg and AlyakAm in tow. "I sent a text message to my girlfriend." He told the siblings. "So expect a sudden Apparition. 3… 2… 1…"

"DISRESPECT!" Neither of the three were startled by the witch's sudden appearance. "What can I do for my boy toy today?" Sipa asked with a bright smile.

"These two wanna meet their Positives." Nerehc replied, gesturing the gloomy-faced duo. "I'm not sure if Cheren's in his room, so I need you to open a portal if he isn't."

"Okay, sure." Sipa shrugged. "Think I'll chat up my own Positive while we're there. Tell her that I'm a changed person!" She raised her arms happily.

"The other day, you magically switched a person's face with their butt." Nerehc reminded as they entered the house. He heard a pot boiling in the kitchen, so assumed his mother was there.

"For poetic justice reasons." His girlfriend contradicted. They made it to Nerehc's room and faced his mirror. Sipa jiggled her wand and called, "Dimentio Flippow."

The mirror became a portal to the Posiverse. "Now remember guys, you're allowed to cause mayhem in their world, just let people know who you really are after a while." Nerehc instructed.

"Of course." AlyakAm replied. "We'll take it to our hearts like Numbness Serum."

"Now, I'm not sure if Cheren's people are still uncomfortable with the Apocalypse, so just-" Nerehc and Sipa were stabbed in the hips by syringes. They both collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

"I must say, it is quite fun drugging people." Egroeg said as he and his sister entered the vortex.

"Do not try anything to me." AlyakAm told him. "I've memorized all techniques and can drug you during your breath."

 **Somewhere dark** (Play "Old Doll" from _Mad Father_.)

"Nnnnmm…" Nerehc still felt numb in every part of his body as he woke up. It was pitch-black in here, so he took off his sunglasses to see. "Where am I… Hello? Sipa? Egroeg? AlyakAm?"

The padding of sandaled footsteps against the floor rang across the space. Nerehc saw the girl emerge. Aquamarine hair, a dress depicting a shadowed graveyard under a night sky with yellow moon, and a wide mouth and purple eyes that gave Nerehc the chills. Her face was in stitches, and had a dark-pink coat with a burned crown attached to the lowered hood. She held a doll of himself. "Hello, Nerehc!"

The boy raised a brow. "Um… hi?"

"It's nice to meet you!" Her peppy attitude was clearly forced. "My name is Ragus. This is you. Isn't you pretty?" She grinned and held his doll by both arms.

"Are you a fan of me?"

"Not me, in particular. But my master is! She's an exceptional fan of yours. Her name is Medusa!"

"Oh. You mean like the Positive Asudem?"

"Well, Asudem is a myth. Medusa is real. Lots of things are real, actually. Like the end of the world."

"You mean the Apocalypse."

"Yes. You must know the story. The Goddess of Light, Palutena, is responsible for finding the Seven Lights. Medusa, Goddess of Darkness, however… must seek the Darknesses."

"Yeah, what's your point?"

She glided closer to him, not moving her legs. Her wide, creepy face was inches from his. "Medusa needs people to find the Darknesses. She can't physically do it herself. Gods cannot interfere with mortal affairs, even under doomsday. That's why… she's asking you."

"But Sanula told me the Positives were going to find all the Keys."

"That's not true. All the Keys are Positives… but only you Negatives can help us find some of them. Because since the beginning, your kind has bathed in darkness. It should therefore be up to you to seek the Darknesses."

"Things have changed, Ragus. I'm changing the Negaverse into one with light. You can tell Medusa that."

"She very well knows. But Nerehc… surely you all want to survive. Lady Medusa wishes to find the Darknesses. She wishes to help you. I can take you to her. But only if you promise to do everything she says."

"And what if I don't? What if I don't go with you?"

She stayed silent for a second, her head slanted sideways. "Then… your world is doomed. You can try to figure everything out… but not without a goddess's hand."

Nerehc looked at her thoughtfully. "…She would really help? Help save everybody?"

"Of course. Medusa loves mortals."

Nerehc wasn't sure what to say. …Clearly, this was some kind of dream, he and Sipa were just knocked out. Still, it could also be a vision. Just how far was Cheren in finding the Lights—they only had a month until summer really began, could they locate twenty people in time? "…Alright." Nerehc decided. "I'll see what she has to offer. But I expect her to help us make progress."

Ragus grinned wide. "Thank you, Nerehc! Lady Medusa appreciates it!"

She took Nerehc's right (dominant) hand and plopped her doll onto it. She closed her eyes and glowed blue with energy, much to Nerehc's fright. ". . . Wh-Wh-WHOOOOOOAAAAA!" Nerehc shone brightly, Ragus's grin looked more vicious in the light. A soul-sweeping sensation overcame him. The darkness turned white.

The moment it all disappeared, Nerehc fell. Ragus looked down at him with her grin. …He slowly stood up. Never had Nerehc been more calm. …He opened his sharp, snakelike green eyes, smiling wickedly. "Thank you… Ragus."

"My pleasure… Lady Medusa." The Nerehc doll dangled lifeless and motionlessly from Ragus's hand.

* * *

 **These Side Stories chapters actually are pretty short sometimes. It's only three story arcs to focus on, depending if I wanna show certain arcs in which chapters. Besides, I won't be able to work on this as much anyway, college started for me again, so I'll be doing lots of art stuff. Well, next time in the Side Stories, some Negaverse and Augustus, then 3,000 words of Wendy napping, nah I'm just kidding. X) Give the little Cry Mage a break. Later.**


	6. Lost and Looking

**Welcome to the second story arc of the Side Stories, which I will title the Darkness Seeker Arc (subject to change). To start off, we'll have Nerehc's first stage and Augustus's 3rd stage. (Takes place during Chapter 12.)**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-6: Lost and Looking_**

 **Negaverse; EiznekCm House**

Nerehc and Ragus came up out of the basement of the former's house. As they headed for the front door, they were caught by Lehcar EiznekCm, who had walked in from the kitchen. "Oh, Mother!" Medusa said with Nerehc's voice, pushing up the sunglasses to hide her snakelike green eyes. "This is my friend, Ragus. I invited her over for-"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Lehcar asked Nerehc, cocking a brow.

Medusa's (Nerehc's) heart jumped, wondering if she'd been caught. "Er… I'm-"

"Because I don't like random kids sneaking in my house and taking my stuff. NOW, GET OUT! !"

"WHOOOA!" Medusa and Ragus were flung out of the front door, which Lehcar slammed shut. The two rubbed their heads as they stood up. " _That_ wasn't the response I expected." Medusa said.

"You're telling ME!" proclaimed Thanatos's perky voice.

The God of Death wobbled over in the very fat body that belonged to Eigaoh Nagillig. "I can't understand how a vegetarian stays fat as an adult, yet his Positive eats meat and is skinny as a mantis!"

"Lucky for you, that body is still prettier than your own." Pandora said negatively, coming over in Ikuk's body. "This woman is so small-chested. Sigh…" (she actually says the word).

"This guy's shirt doesn't even work for his belly!" Thanatos said, indicating his big belly sticking out. "Look! When I push my front in, my BACK pops out!" He pushed his belly under his shirt, then his back belly popped out. "But when I push my back in, my FRONT pops out!" He pushed his back in, and the same happened. "What's up with that? ?"

"The gods keep track of our Gigai ever since our commingling with the Thirteen Darknesses over the years." Medusa reminded. "We'll only be able to get work done by possessing these bodies. Now, shape up, you two! Our first order of business is to gather the Six Demon Saints."

"Awww, look at you giving orders like a grown-uuuuup." Pandora cooed, leaning forward and folding her arms on Nerehc's head. "You're so adorable."

"Stop it, Dora!" Medusa flailed Nerehc's arms and pushed the woman off. Ragus giggled.

"Fine. So, why are we concerned about the Demon Saints when we're supposed to be finding the Darknesses?"

"There's nothing we can do about the Darknesses for the moment. Not until Ragaj Gnik and Bill Cipher get done doing what they're supposed to. However, since we've come to know the Darknesses across the years, especially their powers, it's going to be Hell when all those people are suddenly together. We can use the Demon Saints to keep them all in line. And not only that… one of the Darknesses will need the power of the Demon Saints to help him."

"Also, we're purposely not saying the names of the Darknesses for secrecy's sake." Thanatos informed. "You understand, don't you, Ragus?"

"I certainly do!" Ragus beamed.

"Then let's get started." Medusa clapped hands. "I propose that we search for Lucifer first. Last I heard, he was Ganondorf's horsy, but he's mostly been doing work in Mexico. We'll enter there from Ocixem, since the gods don't look in here often. Ragus, those people will not be able to bother us while they're in their dolls, right?"

"They most certainly shouldn't." Ragus smiled brightly and held the three dolls of Nerehc, Eigaoh, and Ikuk. "However, Lady Medusa, I have a small query: who is Nerehc?"

"?" Medusa cocked a brow. "Nerehc is this boy. The one I'm possessing right now."

"I assumed as much, but for some reason, I don't seem to know who he is!"

"…Interesting. But you remember those two adults just fine?" Medusa indicated Ikuk and Eigaoh's bodies.

"I do."

"Hmmm… Well, we'll ponder over it later. Although this makes me wonder what the Coincidence Factor had in store for Cheren."

 _"Sorry for disturbing you, Miss EiznekCm."_ a girl's voice said inside the house.

 _"You're just lucky you're more tolerable than other kids. NOW GET OUT."_ That's when Sipa came flying through the window.

"Ow!" Sipa hit the grass outside. She shook her head and looked up at the possessed Nerehc and his group. "…Who are you weirdoes supposed to be?"

 **Dream World…** (Play "Piano #1" from _Mogeko Castle_.)

Nerehc woke up with a fuzzy feeling in his head. He saw that he was wearing a purple jumpsuit with a three-swirl symbol on the chest. "Am I in… the Dream World?"

He was gazing up at a huge, grayish castle under a pure blue night sky with stars. There were statues of what looked like stuffed animals, and it seemed that many stuffed animals were happily roaming this place. "Well, I'm somewhere. I…" He held his head, and the fuzzy feeling seemed stronger than ever. "I am… Who am I? What's my name… I can't… remember. …" He looked up at the castle. "Maybe… someone in there will know."

 _Stage B-5: Night Castle_

 _Mission: Find out who and where you are._

 _Act 1_

Nerehc (for now, we'll assume that's his name) sprouted purple flames from his shoes and skated across the stone bridge over the moat. Stuffed toys were floating carefree in the water, so he wouldn't disturb them. He skied around some statues of the animals and followed a right route, where a blue strip of carpet led between castle walls. The road forked ahead, so Nerehc followed a right path, which led to a dead end. There were crates and barrels stacked around, so he sliced them with the glowing white sword he apparently had. He found peppers and bags of potato chips, and figured he'd take them with him.

Nerehc skied to the left route of the fork, going up some stairs that ended at a ledge over the moat. There were several towers standing around and more stuffed toys floating in the water. Nerehc could grind on a rail on his left, to a spring that propelled him to another tower. He Wall Kicked off, flew to another tower with Rocket Boost, and repeated the Wall Jumping until he set foot on a new path. He glided up some winding stairs to reach the top of this short tower. Using his weightless rockets, Nerehc leaped across a series of small pillars across the water, getting to a castle wall and gliding up some stairs.

The path reached an end before a drop, in which the castle wall on the left had a series of branches going up. Nerehc grabbed and swung around each one to propel himself higher. He landed on a new path that led to a chain, which Nerehc grinded across to reach another path, and skied along until some stairs brought him to a ground above the wall. Plushies were sitting at tables and drinking tea, all wearing bright and happy faces.

Nerehc decided to approach a pink rabbit and blue hippo plushy. "Um… Can any of you tell me where I am?"

"You're in Night Castle." The rabbit replied.

"The castle made by Ragus." The hippo followed.

"Everyone's happy here."

"You'll be happy, too."

Nerehc looked at a statue of the smiling, hooded girl with a stitch face. "Ragus…" Her appearance was foggy in his mind. "Do any of you know where I came from?"

"We're all from the other world." Rabbit replied.

"That bad world." Hippo said.

"Ragus helped us escape."

"We live in this world now."

"You'll like living here, too."

"Er, I'm not sure I'll fit in… I'm not a toy like the rest of you."

"You'll become one once you get adapted." Rabbit replied, sipping tea. "I wonder what you'll be. A monkey, maybe?"

Nerehc looked at the statue again. "Can I meet her? Maybe she can tell me who I am."

"You can go in the castle to find her. But by the time you do, you won't care anymore."

"Yeah, well…" Nerehc looked to the castle entrance far across the chasm. "That'll depend."

Nerehc skied past the café and jumped some platforms up around a tower, then grabbed a zipline to slide to a small pillar. From there, he used his rockets to glide to a further, shorter pillar. Then, he could only glide to a platform just over the surface of the moat. The stuffed animals looked as carefree here as any of the other ones, floating in the water. But rather than swim with them, Nerehc used his rockets to glide just over the surface. He found a set of branches leading up to a foothold on the wall below the castle entrance.

Nerehc swung up these branches, but to get higher up, he had to climb a long, dangling blue drape on the left of the foothold. He reached a new ledge, which led around the wall to a path consisting of in-and-out platforms. Nerehc jumped the platforms with timing, and once at the following foothold, he viewed a stairway of gargoyle statues in which spikes sprouted on their heads every few seconds. Nerehc nimbly jumped the statues when the spikes were down, arriving at the ground before the castle entrance.

The gate was completely black inside, like when you enter a loading zone in a videogame. However, when Nerehc skied through the black entrance, he was still outside, now overlooking a long stairwell down that he didn't see before. He glided down, and then up an even higher stairwell, before viewing the majesty of the Night Castle's distant entrance. With nothing obstructing his path, Nerehc skated over. A yellow crescent moon hung in the stars above the castle. This world was really pretty, Nerehc thought. If all those toys had a point, he could get used to living here. Maybe he would decide if he got to view the inside of the castle. After arriving at a short flight of stairs, Nerehc skied up to and entered the castle gates. (Play "Mirror Room" from _Sonic Adventure_.)

 _Act 2_

The interior walls were brick and gray like outside, with a red carpet leading down this candlelit passage. Nerehc entered a foyer room with candlelit chandeliers, skating up some stairs before turning left into a hallway. The hall seemed empty at first- _"YAH HA HAAA!"_ a jack-in-the-box popped out of the floor. Nerehc sliced it in half with his sword before skiing further- _"YAH HA HAAA!"_ Two more jacks came from the wall. He beheaded them and continued. _"YAH HAH-!"_ The next jack-in-the-box hopped over to Nerehc, so he slashed it perfectly down the middle.

The hall ended over a passage with a checkered floor, with platforms that had skinny baggy stems and waddled around on little crow feet. When Nerehc jumped down on one of these platforms (which was called a Buyoon), it shook around before flinging him back up on the starting ledge. Nerehc had to jump over these Buyoons quickly. When one was too far away, he simply tried to skate across the floor, but the Buyoon's top was too high to jump, so it kicked him to the start. Nerehc simply Wall Jumped across that floor to reach its top.

The passage led up some tall stairs, each of which had Buyoons. Nerehc had to Wall Jump to get high enough to land on them. At the end, Nerehc could safely land on the checkered floor of a bigger room. He tried to skate to some stairs, but some of the floor panels rose up to block his path. Nerehc had to solve a maze of rising floor panels. One route led him to a box containing some bacon, but eventually, he made it to the staircase and skied up. He glided down a hall that seemed to twist rightward, so in the following room, Nerehc was standing on the wall with the checkered floor standing vertical on his left.

Nerehc couldn't stand on the floor, only the wall he had shifted gravity on. He jumped up some cube-shaped platforms along the wall opposite the floor (the ceiling), then he glided to some further platforms to get into an opening on the other wall. There were big stuffed bats with crazy, wide-mouth faces flapping around this twisty hallway, which looped up and rightward before bringing Nerehc to the room's ceiling. There were black holes around the ceiling in which huge, peach-colored hands reached out in attempt to grab Nerehc. He avoided these Ragus's Hands and skated up some short stairs, into the next twisty passage. Ragus Hands reached out from every direction, but Nerehc avoided as he made it to the right-side-up checkered floor.

Nerehc saw only blackness at the end of the next passage, but by the time he was there, Ragus's huge and frightening image appeared. In fact, there were many Ragus'; Nerehc was in a hall of huge mirrors that bore hers and his own reflection; except Ragus was nowhere in sight. When Nerehc shifted left, then right, her illusions disappeared, so only Nerehc's reflection moved with him. The mirrors depicted holes in the floor that were otherwise unseen, so Nerehc avoided them, and also crossed the holes with invisible floors. Nerehc had to Wall Jump the mirrors over a long hidden chasm—seeing one of the mirrors was actually a spike wall in its reflection, Nerehc took care to avoid that.

The mirror hall brought him to a longer, straight passage where the mirrors depicted invisible platforms. Nerehc jumped up these platforms, having to wait for a moving one that shifted up, and from the higher platform, glided to further ones. He then had to Wall Jump some vertical invisible platforms before he made it to another corridor.

This passage appeared to grow bigger, and bigger, and bigger as Nerehc skied down, until it was so wide that he couldn't see the walls or ceiling. Even the floor was starting to become invisible in the growing darkness. Nerehc just kept skating and skating… until he apparently reached the end of an even tinier hall. The door was smaller than his fingertip, so he couldn't possibly enter. He bent down and cracked it open with his finger… then magically, he phased through the wall into a normal-size passage. Nerehc continued until he encountered another mirror. (End song.)

The boy inside the mirror was floating in midair, limbs drooping, asleep. The boy looked just like him… except he was wearing golden clothes, with a symbol of a "C" and a small 'x' between its endpoints. Nerehc slowly reached to touch his sleeping "reflection"… but the mirror disappeared the moment his fingers made contact.

Nerehc entered a living room that was behind the mirror. There was tea at a table between two couches, a painting of Ragus, and some drawers. "Mmmm, hello, Good Chum." said a stuffed penguin wearing a top-hat and monocle, sitting on a couch.

Nerehc raised a brow. "You look like a character from a really cool Posiverse show."

"That's funny." The penguin said with a British accent. "I'm actually a character from a crappy Negaverse show. Please, do have a seat."

Nerehc shrugged and sat in the couch opposite. "So, do you know anything about this Ragus chick?"

"Ol, I met her after our studio got burned down by an angry mob because our show was so crappy. She _told_ me she could bring me to a happier world, and lo, here I am. Few months o' bein' here, I turn into this _old_ thing. Shore is better than being in that smelly world." He was emphasizing his long "O" words. " _More_ peaceful here, you know?"

"But how does she do it? Magic?"

" _Oh_ , I here she's some _sort_ of… spiritbender, what give you. She can bend peoples' _souls_ outta their body and put them in her little stuffed hoodilywinks."

"Do you mean her toys?"

" _Don't_ criticize my way of _tolking_. Then, I surmise she puts our _souls_ into slumber like her toys, ergo we are in a dreamland. _So_ , how did you end up being here?"

"Actually…" Nerehc touched his head, "I don't even remember. Not a thing. Zero, zilch."

"Well, you must have been pretty miserable, given you agreed to Ragus's _pro_ position. Might as well en _joy_ life here."

"I don't really feel I should without knowing who I am. Can you take me to where Ragus is?"

" _Oh_ , if she's awake right now, then I conjecture she is asleep _here_. I can take you to her bedchamber _'fore_ she awakens."

"Sure. I'll like that."

"Let's enjoy our tea first. You musta come a _long_ way."

"Not as long as your O's, dude." Nerehc remarked before drinking tea.

 **Naihcalappa Mountains**

The members of the Order of Black Lotus held their hearts in sorrow: one of their most beloved members, Little Aunt, passed away when she accidentally swallowed a nail that was in her spaghetti. Now, the coffin was descending into her grave, dug next to Oitnemid's. "And so, we bid farewell to Little Aunt, who would always show concern for others' well-being above her own." The Man With the Blue Eye spoke. "At least now, she will be able to look over us from the serenity of Spirit World. Farewell… Auntie."

After the funeral, Ydnew Llevram returned to her house, her blue eyes baring their usual scowl. "Can't imagine what a bitch her Positive musta been."

"Hey, Yddy. Hey, Yddy. Hey, Yddy."

"What?" Ydnew asked through gritted teeth.

There was a red praying mantis on the back of her hair, but with the head of a bear. "I'm a Man-Bear." Yeoj transformed into a scarf around her neck. "Hey, Yddy. Hey, Yddy. Hey, Yddy."

"WHAT?"

The end of that scarf was a big tongue drooping saliva on her dress. "I'm a scongue." He transformed again. "Hey, Yddy. Hey, Yddy. Hey, Yddy."

"WHAT?!"

He was over her head as a part-hat, part-lizard, and part stapler. "I don't know, anymore! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ydnew grabbed, threw him on the ground, and stomped Yeoj forcefully. "Do you ever get tired of being a fuckin' IDIOT?!"

He turned into red goop on her foot. "How do I get tired? I have no respiratory tracks."

"YDNEEEEWWWW!" Nil and Niyus Gnofieb dashed in, tripping on each other. "Yddy, why aren't you come to the afterpartyyyyyy!" Nil whined.

"It's not a party, dummy!" Us yelled. "It's a… after-funeral!"

"Dad said I could come back. He knew I was bored." Ydnew replied. "Besides, why are you here?"

"We were bore, tooooooo." Nil moaned. "Besides, the grown-ups are talking."

"They said the Apocalypse is gonna happen." Us frowned. "Is this true?"

Ydnew looked down solemn for a moment, then looked at a window to the cloudy sky. "That's what they keep saying. But I… still don't understand. How would it happen? And… how would we stop it." She touched her forehead. "My head feels fuzzy for some reason…"

"Awe, I know what'll unfuzz it." Yeoj said, turning into a bird with a duck's bill before flying on Ydnew's head. "What do you get when you combine the names 'Yeoj' and 'Ydnew'?"

Ydnew made an aggravating sigh. "What?"

"YDEOJ! HAAAAAA HA HA HA haaaaaaa! Hahahahahaaaaaa!"

Ydnew warped him with spacebending, shrinking him to dot size. …He morphed bigger into a frog on her shoulder. "That doesn't work on me. Oink."

"Ugh. If I wasn't worried about my Positive, I would kill myself already."

Outside, Blue Eye was overseeing the after-funeral from a mountaintop. "The fault is mine." Red Eye's deep voice said, materializing from the wind. "I guided the Sector V children to Candied Island, ensuring Big Mom's doom. I did not want your friend to die, but she could not live…"

"I was expecting something to happen when you told me of the crisis regarding Big Mom." Blue Eye replied in his higher voice. "I was afraid to tell her… but at least now, I can focus my worry on the Apocalypse. What is it… that you plan to do, exactly?"

"Eventually, the Twenty Keys will come together and open the gate to the New World. Then, we can make a world that is to everyone's liking. But I fear the forces that may intervene. It is my goal to make things as easy for the chosen ones as possible…"

"And that's destroying your world's leaders, isn't it?"

"Yes. The World Government will be a great liability to the quest. So I must destroy all people who are affiliated with them. I personally do not want to harm the Head President, since she is a close relative of the Unos, but only time will decide her fate. At least, during the span of this month, my acquaintance will be pushing the training of my daughter." Red Eye smirked to himself. "I want to meet her at least 15 days before the Apocalypse, halfway through this month."

"Considering the reckless way you chose to 'raise' her, I'll be surprised if your daughter turns out like you wanted."

"Oh, I'm sure she will. In any case… I believe I will go to Oceana in my world. According to rumors, the Fairy Princess that lives there hails from the legendary Moon Planet. I really want to head there…"

"Why?"

"All in good time, my friend." Red Eye turned around, about to leave. "…Hm hm hm." He chuckled. "You know, if you still want to determine who raises their daughter better… I guess the Opposite Law will see to that." He turned his exposed left eye to Blue Eye. "Because by the end of this month, I expect my daughter to be as powerful as the other kids."

 **Posiverse; _Sour Cinnamon_ ** (Play "Fellmuth Arena" from _Spyro: Eternal Night_.)

The sun singed Augustus's body as he found himself in some sort of desert upon waking. After standing up, he flinched at the sight of the gigantic window, where Veruca Salt and her creepy grin; Violet Beauregard, and a lanky man with round sunglasses were staring at him. "You two? And… some other guy? Where am I?"

"You're in my TV." The paper-thin man responded. "I put you in there with my TV-TV Fruit powers. That's what I am: Mike Teavee."

While he couldn't tell from outside, Augustus was stuck inside a small, old-timey TV, which used antennas and had a staticky screen. "Yes yes, it's funny how all of you are named after your respective thing." Augustus rolled his eyes. "Though I want to ask where Augustus _Gloop_ is."

"He wanted to get chocolate powers from the Chocolate Volcano." Violet replied. "Didn't work out."

"Ah." Augustus flexed his brows, figuring out the rest. "Well anyway, where's Lord Tyrone?"

"Lord _Licorice_ has already been to see you." Veruca stated. "He _wanted_ to make sure we caught you. We did. Now he's going to meet his acquaintance. He wants us to bring you there, too."

"You guys can't say one thing that isn't secretive, huh? I guess Willy Wonka _did_ teach a few things. Unless you'll tell me where we're going?"

"You'll find out." Veruca grinned. "For now, just be a good boy and stay in there. Come, Violet. Let's go eat cookies."

"Of course, Friend." Violet flipped out of the room while Veruca walked normally. Mike Teavee laid flat on the floor like a carpet.

Stewie Griffin piloted the _Ace Flyer_ as they soared after the fleet of Cinnamon Ships under a sunset sky. "The tracking device I had placed on Augustus isn't responding." Stewie said. "It shut off in that left tower, so perhaps we'll look there."

"Ah dunno, man, what if Lord Licorice is on that thang?" Rallo asked worriedly. "Can't we just wait and see where it's going?"

"Don't be such a Scooby, Rallo. I mean, their propellers are cinnamon rolls, I think we have the upper hand here."

"You forget that we once worked for a company that also had candy-based technology." Rallo said with disbelief.

"And we were utterly defeated. So let's do this."

 _Stage B-6: Sour Cinnamon_

 _Mission: Escape the Sour Cinnamon!_

 _Act 1_

As the small plane flew closer to the _Sour Cinnamon_ , PIE Fighters were sent to launch giant versions of said pastries at them. Stewie barrel-rolled and dodged the pies before blasting pool balls at one ship, while Maggie shot the other with a missile launcher. They kept this up with other PIE Fighters until a Cinnasaucer approached them, which looked like a smaller UFO aptly shaped like a cinnamon roll. It flew vertically and blocked their path, facing its hypnotic swirly top as it released a constant stream of cinnamon. The Baby Trio avoided the substance for the sake of not getting their engines clogged, and Maggie kept pelting it with missiles until it was down.

The _Ace Flyer_ caught up with the _Sour Cinnamon_ and was flying over the roof of the swirly-propeller ship. Turrets emerged from the roof and blasted colorful rock candies, possibly meant to mimic lasers. Stewie and Maggie kept shooting them, nearing closer to the left watchtower Stewie mentioned. "So how do ya wanna get in?" Rallo asked. "Park by and knock on their window?"

Two Cinnasaucers ambushed them on either side and swallowed their ship in cinnamon. Stewie struggled to see forward, his eyes squinted from the sticky powder, but the plane was now trembling from clogged engines. "No, it seems we're doing like my father: drunken crash through the front door at 1am."

Within seconds, the two-seated plane CRASHED through the tower's window, and the babies flew out. "What the hell? !" Mike Teavee jumped to the air and on his feet, his body wobbling like paper.

 _"Twerps! You made it? !"_

"Augustus? !" Rallo looked around for the source of the voice. "Where you at? ? Are you a ghost? OH GOD, PLEASE DON'T HAUNT ME like President Lincoln now haunts Joseph!"

 _"I'm inside the TV, you idiots! He put me in here with a Devil Fruit power. Just destroy this TV or somethin'!"_

"I don't think that's a good idea." Stewie said. "If it doesn't work, you might end up lost among the airwaves until you end up on TeenNick. Maggie, Rallo, attack him!" He pointed at Mike.

"Good idea!" Rallo perked up. "If we knock him out, his power will wear off!" He blasted music notes at the paper-thin man while Maggie shot missiles. Mike Teavee withstood the notes, then he nimbly dodged the missiles.

"Iron Body and Paper Art." Mike said, his top part bending like a cane. "Can't hit me, can't touch me. What, you thought a guy who's skinnier than paper wouldn't learn some kind of self-defense? Even an idiot coulda guessed that."

"Could that idiot also have guessed Rallo and Maggie would distract you while I saved our idiot captain?" Mike turned his paper head left, gasping when he saw Stewie on the table beside the small TV.

 _"Who you calling an idiot, Stew? !"_ Augustus yelled.

"Don't even THINK it!" Mike's goggles turned into TV static as he shot a static beam at Stewie.

The baby whipped out a satellite gun and blasted a blue ray, which turned the static blue as it struck the TV. Augustus popped out of the gray screen like 3-D before plopping on the floor.

"A Metahuman Neutralizer." Stewie smirked and held his weapon proudly. "Even an imbecile could have guessed I would have one."

"Nice going, Brat." Augustus grabbed Stewie under his left arm, then dodged over to grab Maggie and Rallo. "Later, TV!" Augustus ran for the broken window to jump out.

They landed on a walkway as Augustus nearly fell over the edge with the momentum, but he regained balance and set the babies down. "Man, why ain't we beat that guy and get on the plane? ?" Rallo complained.

"I saw it clogged with cinnamon, and I wasn't gonna waste time with that loser." Augustus said. "We'll just steal one of their ships."

There was an open hatch on the tower's side, puffing a Growth Gum. Augustus took a piece and used it to bounce down the mini cinnamon roll propellers, the Baby Trio following. They landed on a walkway, but before letting the gum pop, Augustus bounced to a cinnamon roll platform above its left, retrieving a Gold Wonka Bar. The Marzipans traveled along the path and encountered three Blackberry Guards. They shot guns with jawbreaker bullets, but Augustus countered by chucking his Gobstopper to hit their guns away.

"Maggie, you know where to shoot!" Augustus grabbed the spike-haired baby and threw her over his shoulders, running from the Blackberries when they drew swords. Maggie used her sniper to shoot the Blackberries in their unarmored faces. The pirates searched the Blackberries' fallen forms ("She clearly killed them, yet we can't say it." Stewie said) and found Licoropes. "Cool! We can use these!"

Augustus was first to throw his Licorope onto a candycane propeller that was over the railing. He whirled around and around before letting himself fly to another propeller and roping it. "Yyyyeah…" Rather than mimic his actions, Stewie decided to launch his grappling gun to the railing of the walkway they would eventually get to, pulling Rallo and Maggie with him. Indeed, Augustus arrived at this walkway after clearing the propellers, and was very dizzy afterward. "Uuuuhh… how you twerps get here 'fore Iiii…" Augustus moaned.

"Shall I fetch _The Little Brain Cell That Could_?" Stewie remarked. After August recovered, the four entered the doorway of a building this walkway was set around. They were on a circular walkway over a lower floor, and Blackberries were quick to charge around from the opposite side. Augustus left the babies to deal with them while he dropped to the floor below, which had three large boxes. Broccoli Trolls popped out of these boxes, and their horrid stench reached Augustus's nose. He could understand why the Blackberries don't come down here: these guys were poison to any candy lover.

Augustus held his nose shut and sliced the broccoli with his Candycane Cutlass, but this merely increased the strength of the stench. Augustus had to squint his eyes because the green gas was making them water. He looked up the stairs that led back to the walkway and noticed the switch on the wall, labeled _FANS_. "Guys, hit that button!"

After Rallo finished beating a Blackberry, he jumped off its fallen body and reached the switch to flip it. Ceiling fans activated and sucked the poison gas out of the room. "Way to go." Augustus smiled with praise. "Come on, kids, let's blow this place." The three babies joined him as they followed a passage that sloped down. They stood on a grated floor above a chasm, using their Licoropes to swing a candycane ceiling fan. Their weight pulled it down, so they swung to the following floor quickly. Augustus noticed another floor below this one, so he held onto the fan to descend and land on it.

He found a Fudgepuffsicle down here, eating it to inflate and float up like a balloon. He shifted his body to avoid hitting the spikes under the higher floor, and Maggie jumped on his bloated body to ride. Turrets on the next floor blasted candy corn, so Maggie shot those turrets to protect her captain. Over this next floor, Augustus could float up a ceiling shaft, where Maggie grabbed a floating Gold Wonka Bar. Augustus deflated and landed on the floor, and Stewie and Rallo came over with the grappling gun.

Since nothing would help them cross the pit to the next floor, Augustus grabbed the three babies in his arms to make a great leap over. He set them down as they climbed a ladder down a shaft. They ended up at the bottom of the _Sour Cinnamon_ , standing on a walkway hanging precariously over the great drop. It appeared that they were flying over a jungle. "Augh. The sun's almost setting." Augustus noticed. "We better steal a ship and get outta here before it's your bedtime."

"Yo, quit treating us like children!" Rallo yelled. "We're over 20 years old, you know!"

"Well, I'm 15 and I'm hunting candies." Augustus bit his current lollipop and lowered his sunglasses to show his cool stare. "Your argument means nothing."

The Marzipans followed the walkway down before it came to a stop. There was a turning device with cinnamon rolls attached to the end of its two poles. The rolls passed by their platform, so they used the Corn-Clamber Boots to step on them and ride along. The Deadly Babies were terrified at hanging directly over the thousand-foot drop, relying only on the sturdiness of their candy boots and some overgrown cinnamon roll. They were about to pass a part of the underside that looked like chocolate chip cookie, and Augustus was able to stamp his boots into it.

The babies joined him, but being completely upside-down over the drop wasn't a good feeling. Turrets popped out and tried to shoot them, but Maggie reacted quickly by shooting back. They kept firm on the cookie path until they were above a new walkway. They jumped off the cookie and switched to their regular shoes. Blackberries tried to shoot them from other paths, but Augustus threw his Gobstopper to bonk their heads forcefully and make them fall into the jungle. "Man, this thing is awesome!" he said happily once the Gobstopper returned.

They came to a series of sealed steam pipes on the ship's underside. They used their Licoropes to swing across, popping the pipes open as a result (sugar came out instead of steam). They set foot on a new walkway and hurried to the ladder at the end.

Unfortunately, Veruca Salt climbed down that ladder, approaching with a malicious grin and rotting body. The pirates readied their selves, but they saw Violet Beauregard crawl along the underside and land behind them. "I _knew_ Mike couldn't guard you." Veruca said. "That's why _I_ wanted to. Why couldn't I?"

Augustus chucked Gobstoppers at her, Maggie shot Violet with bullets, but both of them used Iron Body to defend. "So all you guys use Rokushiki like Black John Licorice?" Augustus asked.

"Well, yeah." Violet was chewing some gum. "If he knew it, why wouldn't Lord Licorice know? FYI though, the martial art was invented by the government assassins, CP10."

"So there's nowhere to run." Veruca stepped forward slowly. "Lord Licorice wants you to fight in the arena. I want to help him. I want to catch you."

Augustus clutched his cutlass in both hands. "Huuuurrrrrrr!" He gripped it tight, trying to focus his very willpower into it.

"Not the best time to be constipated." Stewie remarked.

"I'm trying to focus my Haki! Just… a little…!"

"You can't use Haki?" Violet asked, popping her gum.

"Nnnnn… aaaaaahhhh!" Augustus slashed his sword and cut one of the beams holding up this path. "Huh… It's Licorope. Kids, better hang on!"

"W-Wait! What're you doin'?" Rallo asked. ("Mw-mw?" Maggie followed.)

"Sorry to drop on your summer, but fall is coming early!" Augustus slashed the other three Licoropes, and this section of the walkway plummeted to the forest as the pirates hung on. (Play "Piranha Creeper Creek" from _Mario 3-D World_!)

 _Act 2: Cinnamon Jungle_

"WAAAAH!" The walkway bounced down some big gelatin leaves before crashing on the jungle floor. "You tryin' to kill us, Cap'n? !" Rallo yelled.

"You're still young, but I thought you would know the difference between staying there and where we are now."

"True, but this defeats our plan of stealing a transport." Stewie noted.

"There's bound to be civilization somewhere. Let's just get away before they come down."

The sun had gone below the horizon, so the sky was turning indigo. They followed a path through the woods, turning left and stopping to view a route where giant apple-headed Piranha Plants stretched out of holes in their walls to munch on trees oozing with cinnamon. "This reminds me of a cereal no one eats." Rallo said.

"You mean Apple Jacks?" Augustus asked. "This is where everybody harvests cinnamon for their food. The Apple Piranhas here love them. That's where they got the idea for those commercials."

Augustus threw Gobstoppers at the piranhas' heads, making them retreat into their holes so the pirates could get through. Once past the road, they arrived at a small lake of cinnamon, where a large cinnamon roll platform was floating. They jumped on it, and another platform floated up. The sequence repeated, but Apple Piranhas were coming up, munching their mouths as they moved in zigzaggy fashions to eventually eat the rolls. Augustus and Maggie attacked them before they could come. Piranhas ambushed from behind, so Maggie handled those ones while Augustus faced front. Eventually, the cinnamon rolls led them to a shore on the other side.

They used their Corn-Clamber Boots to go up a short wall made of rock and cinnamon. At the top, they overlooked a very steep hill, but thought it best not to take off their boots given the unsteady ground. Apple Piranhas peeped out of holes and spat cinnaballs at them. They managed to avoid them despite the slower speed of their boots, and Augustus hit them with Gobstoppers. At the bottom of this slope, the path shifted left, but the cinnamon ground was still slanted and threatened to drop them in ooze below.

The slanted path became more wide, but Apple Piranha heads were rolling out of holes on their left, threatening to shove them off. There was a Gold Wonka Bar perched in front of one of the holes, and being the gutsy fool he was, Augustus stomped up to grab it. Eventually, the path brought them to stable, grassy ground, so they could take off their clamber boots. They entered another route through the jungle, where Augustus used his cutlass to slice the M. Bushes he expected to ambush them. Spear Guys swung overhead on vines and dropped their favored weapons, moving too fast for August or Maggie to hit.

They hurried through this path and reached another cinnamon cliff. Augustus tried to march up first, but he ended up falling when he stomped a spot that was less stable. Rallo used his boombox powers to shake that cliff, making the outer crust come off. This way, they could easily step up. They viewed a steep, grass hill, but they could see Spear Guys swinging from afar, throwing their spears with whipping speed. Maggie locked on with her sniper rifle and shot every Spear Guy in her vision.

Augustus lifted Maggie over his shoulders so she could keep shooting them while he marched up the slope with his clamber boots. They made it to the top of the hill, then took a right path to find a river of oozing cinnamon, which had a solid path that threatened to crumble under their weight. There was a bushel of Ringtrots, so they each took one and began sucking on it. The super sour taste gave them the energy to run across the would-be crumbling path with great speed. The cinnamon creek became wider, and they had to make run-and-jumps over gaps in the path. Rallo ended up taking a left route where the footholds were smaller, but he survived and successfully grabbed a Wonka Bar.

Rallo rejoined his friends before they dashed up a path up the wall, shifting rightward and dodging the many Apple Piranhas that came out to munch them. The path was coming to the wall's edge, but instead of fly off, they shifted angles as the wall turned. The path led them parallel with another wall, where they had to jump back-and-forth when Piranha Plants tried to block their way. This segment concluded when a string of piranhas rose out of the opposite wall, failing to bite the pirates before they landed on the safe ground. The Marzipans gasped for breath before marching further into the jungle. (End song.)

They stepped up a hill and looked at the _Sour Cinnamon_ in the distance. "'Guess they lost us." Augustus panted, still tired. "Let's hope they stay lost."

Stewie's eyelids were drooping, and the baby was trying to keep himself standing. …Inevitably, the football-head ended up tumbling down the hill. "Stewie!" Augustus and co. ran down to help him.

"Uuu… I'm okay." Stewie said groggily.

"I knew you kids would get tired. Let's rest here. They shouldn't be able to find us in the dark."

The four pirates settled under a grouping of trees. Augustus pulled the wrapping off one of their Gold Wonka Bars, giving a small piece to each of them. "I know it isn't good bedtime food, but it's all we got without our airplane. I'll let you kids have extra servings 'soon as we're out of here." The captain proceeded to eat the rest of the Wonka Bar.

"I ain't sure I'll be able to sleep, on account o' the monsters." Rallo shuddered.

"Mw-mw-mw." Maggie said with worry.

"Fine. You two can be night watch." August smirked.

"Sure…" Rallo's eyes grew heavy. "We'll just… eat some cinnamon and…" He and Maggie both fell into slumber.

"Ahh, the minds of the less intelligent." Stewie said. "I suppose you'll be falling asleep before long."

"I have more sugar in my veins than you." Augustus bit his candybar. "I still don't get something, though. Why'd you twerps save me, anyway? I don't think I'd be able to blackmail you if Lord Licorice had me."

"You probably would've escaped, anyway." Stewie sighed. "Besides, our lives are too dull without the Big Mom Pirates. When your family's frozen in age, nothing ever changes. It's always the same routine, week after week. We joined those pirates to begin with to get away from those routines. But now that they're gone, you're all we have left. And, I guess part of me kind of liked what we did."

"Hmm. I think that's part of the reason I didn't wanna stay home with my parents." Augustus smiled. "Aside from the adventure and new experiences, I feel more at home out here. Chatting with the Gumdrop Pirates and… well, people who can understand me."

"Perhaps, but, Augustus… do you ever wonder if it's wrong to seek life away from your family?" Stewie looked away reflectively. "If you think you're bound for so much more because you're ashamed of where you come from?"

"I'm not ashamed." Augustus started a new lollipop. "The blood of candy hunters courses through my veins. Seeking adventure, thrills, whether you have a reason or not… I know for sure that this is what I was meant to do."

"That's something to admire about you." Stewie smiled. "But you know, you never did tell us why you wanted to search for the Lost Candies. Judging by your response to that Ricardo fellow, it sounds like a deep reason."

"Actually, I-…" Augustus blushed, thinking how cheesy this sounded. "A few months back, I… promised this sick boy I would find the candies. He wanted to… taste the cake that they created before he dies. I felt bad because… I was more interested in finding Candied Planet."

"Oh…" Stewie remembered hearing the truth behind that plan. "…I suppose if this adventuring thing doesn't work out, you wouldn't fail as a babysitter."

"Hwhat are you talking about?" Augustus chuckled.

"Oh, I don't know. It's just a thought. …Achoo!" Stewie sneezed. "I don't mean to suggest anything, but babies aren't used to sleeping outside without… blankets."

"Sad that you don't have Mommy or Daddy to sleep with?"

"Oh, shut your lollipop hole."

"Alright, fine. But just for tonight." Augustus lied down and held his arm open, allowing Stewie to crawl up and rest his misshapen head on it.

Augustus felt something on his right and saw that Maggie was hugging him, laying her weary head on his chest. Rallo also cuddled up beside Maggie, warming her with his afro. Augustus didn't know why, but… he felt warm. These children, even though they were frozen in age, were adorable. Sometimes, Augustus wondered what it would be like to have siblings. Little brothers or sisters who look up to him. Of course, he had Haylee for that. And they would all be his pirate crew. "Hmm… But as far as siblings go, these three are downright weird."

 **The next morning…**

The Marzipan Pirates were still asleep, cuddled close together. Engines roared in the sky, and the kids were waken up when small bits of cinnamon sprinkled on them. Feeling the sticky stuff on their face, they shook awake and got to their feet. The _Sour Cinnamon_ was passing overhead. "Uh-oh. Looks like they found us." Augustus said.

They stood and watched as the _Cinnamon_ continued flying. "That's odd, they aren't dropping any soldiers." Stewie noticed.

The vessel appeared to be heading to a giant mountain that was round like a stadium. "Didn't Veruca say that… they were taking us to an arena?"

Roars and chants echoed through the jungle. As the Marzipans approached the stadium cautiously, they grew louder.

* * *

 **About time I get back into the grind of writing this story. I'm not sure how many chapters this arc will be, but I'll assume seven. I want to at least get through the Original Worlds Arc before resuming the main story.**


	7. Davy Back Fight

**Hey, guess what, guys! I might get a job at Kroger! I mean, first they gotta make sure I'm not an international criminal from Venezuela, but once they do, I can finally start working! 'Course, that means less time to write, so be forewarned.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 7: Davy Back Fight_**

 **Cinnamon Jungle; stadium** (Play "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from _Pan_.)

The Marzipan Pirates quietly crept into a tunnel of the gigantic rock mass. The chants and roars were growing louder as they progressed. "Whaddyou think that is?" Rallo asked. "Some kinda Satanic ritual?"

"Maybe it's the arena that Veruca mentioned." Augustus said. "But who would set one up all the way out here? Who would come?"

 _Hello, hello, hello_

 _How low?_

 _Hello, hello, hello_

 _HOW LOW?_

"I think we're about to find out." Stewie said as they reached the tunnel's end.

Hundreds of thousands of seats were filled around the tremendous stadium. Their song echoed to the heavens and beyond. All of them were waving flags with Jolly Rogers: they were all pirates. There were demon pirates, robot pirates, human pirates, even the Kremlings.

 _With the LIGHTS out_

 _IT'S LESS DANGEROUS_

 _Here we are now_

 _ENTERTAIN US!_

 _I feel stupid_

 _AND CONTAGIOUS_

 _Here we are now_

 _ENTERTAIN US!_

When the first verse was repeating, the Marzipans stared with awe at the three gigantic ships hovering in the sky. There were four figures standing on platforms on the ships' sides: Cindy Cortix from the Boogey Pirates, the two Rusty Petes from the Slag Pirates, and a short old man with a white beard – Mr. Smee.

 _"And I forget… just WHY I taste."_ Lord Licorice fixed on his black and red armor, his hat, and loaded his shiny gun. _"Oh yeah, I guess, it makes me smile."_ He sung quietly to himself as he marched up the wooden stairs. _"I found it hard, it's hard to find. Oh well… whatever… never mind."_

The "hello, hello" was repeating once more, and Licorice was mumbling as he walked up on the deck of the _Boogey Bay_. He passed a polite smile and nod to Captain Mandy, who stared with uninterest as she drank booze. Captain Slag, Captain Hook, and Baron K. Roolenstein were there as well, bowing their heads at Licorice briefly. The Candy Lord marched up more stairs and across a walkway with railing. He jumped, planted both feet on either railing, and raised his arms for all pirates to see.

 _With the LIGHTS out_

 _IT'S LESS DANGEROUS_

 _Here we are now_

 _ENTERTAIN US!_

 _I feel stupid_

 _AND CONTAGIOUS_

 _Here we are now_

 _ENTERTAIN US!_

The song stopped as all pirates roared, and Licorice stood back on the walkway. His voice was heard across the stadium. "Friends… I am Lord Tyrone Licorice. You know me very well… as the apprentice of the King of the World himself!"

 ** _"BOOOOOOOOOO!"_** The pirates were roaring in protest.

"BUT! …Unlike those law-abiding bigheads, you'll find that I'm a very kind sir indeed! I believe there is beauty in you pirates that the World Government does not see! Ay, it is because of those powder-wigs that you are not allowed to participate in Glitzville's games. But it is no worry, because my ancestors so GRACIOUSLY carved out this stadium for swashbucklers of every kind, to host the Davy Back Fight Brawl every YEAR!"

"YAAAAARRRRRRHHHH!"

"Lady and man pirates, we have a spectacular show planned for you! Sponsoring our event is none other than two, yes TWO, Pirate Emperors! First, meet the Empress of Fear herself, Captain of the Boogey Pirates, the Grim Stare Mandy!" Said empress gave a half-hearted wave before chugging another drink of rum, only to find her bottle was empty. "Unfortunately, our second Emperor, King Kroctus Rool, King of the Kremling Krew, chose not to be here in person. In his stead, his second brother, Baron K. Roolenstein. We also have the honor of being in the audience of two noble Pirate Lords! May I present Captain James Hook and Captain Romulus Slag!"

"Oh, the honor is my own, Master Licorice!" Captain Slag bowed. "One of me many pleasures in visiting this planet is ta bear witness to its quality entertainment! Plus, Ay could really use me a breather, considering all of the hard-drive-ache Ay've suffered these past months."

"I think we _all_ need to relieve ourselves of pain." Licorice twisted his left mustache, grinning slyly. "I believe our fair Empress was humiliated before her crew by a young junior pirate. The 'Sunny-Fist' Sheila, according to His Majesty's records."

"I THREW the fight, mmmm," Mandy yelled drunkily, "BEEELCH, Lardrich!"

"Now, Captain Hook, I understand that you had a special _prize_ you wished to wager in this contest?"

"I most certainly do!" The red-cladded captain marched up onto the walkway and raised his sword. "PIRATES! I, Captain James Hook, have invaded and traversed the Forest Planet, and discovered its Realm of Fairies! I struck the land when it was most vulnerable: three hours AFTER the Kids Next Door's defeat of Nature Goddess, Viridi! The fairies were helpless in repairing the forest of ruin, and the prize I took from them, I have been eagerly waiting to show somebody. Behold… the FAIRY PRINCESS! AISLING KELLS!"

On this cue, Mr. Smee scrambled to pull out and push a remote. A hatch opened from the bottom of the _Jolly Roger_ , and from it, a net made of steel strings lowered. Augustus, the Deadly Babies, and all the pirates gazed with awe: there was a girl of ghostly white skin and hair, wearing only a gray dress. Her green eyes looked vicious as she tried to bite through the strings with sharp teeth.

"Yes, the Forest Fairy Princess, Aisling Kells!" Hook announced. "One of three Fairy Princesses described in an ancient Avalaran fairytale. The story reads that these fairies contain terrific amounts of magical energy. The Forest Fairy, in particular, possesses the power to grant and extend life, and stop death. Any pirate… would be a fool not to fight over her."

 **"YAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"** The stadium roared with cheers, as every crew craved the fairy's supposed power. Lord Licorice narrowed his eyes evilly as he studied the trapped fairy.

"Is that girl really a Fairy Princess?" Augustus asked.

"Don't be an eediot," Stewie said, "it's probably just a sham."

"Even if it is, they're still abusing the hell out of her for a profit. It's kinda sickening."

"Well, what the hell are _you_ going to do about it, sign up for the competition?"

"Now, everyone!" Lord Licorice announced. "I have another treat for this tournament! As we all know, the notorious crew known as the Big Mom Pirates have been causing us grief for the past 20 years. Just days ago, the Pirate Empress herself has met an unfortunate end. And I, Lord Tyrone Licorice, have captured her grandson, and will force him to compete in the arena against his own will, so that you all may know sweet revenge! As soon as my _associates_ arrive with him, they're certainly _taking_ a while," he mumbled through gritted teeth, "we can get started with-"

His cellphone rang. "Excuse me a sec." Lord Licorice answered. "Ahh, Violet. You know, you're taking an awfully long time to bring him down, I wouldn't imagine… w-what? !" He looked at the Pirate Lords panickingly, then knelt down and whispered, _"You've been looking all night and couldn't find him? Grrr- These people are expecting some revenge, so unless he turns up, one of you will have to dress up like him and-"_

"HEY, STINKTEETH!" A Hispanic voice shouted across the stadium. Lord Licorice gasped and looked over the railing. Everyone's vision directed at one of many entrances. "YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THE BIG MOMS, YOU CHOKE IT UP WITH ME!"

"AUGUSTUS, what the hell are you doing? !" Stewie shouted.

"AHA!" Licorice pointed giddily. "There he is, just like I said! Augustus von Fizzuras, the grandson of Big Mom, is here to fight in the competition!"

"Damn right I am!" Augustus yanked his lollipop out and threw it on the ground. "It's one thing to let a defenseless girl hang in a net like a manatee, but if people got problems with me, I wanna hear it up front before they cower inside a giant mountain like a bunch of wimps!"

"YER DAMN RIGHT we have problems with you!" a Hook Pirate shouted. "BIG MOM replaced me gums with GUM!"

"Fat Jack crushed me brother and got him reprogrammed to be a McDonald's security camera!" a Slag Pirate yelled.

"Th-Th-That Lala girl saw into my memory," a Kremling shuddered, "a-a-and reminded me of the petting zoo. S-S-So many kids and ice cream! . ."

"Those rotty Kids Next Door may've taken 'em all out," a Boogey Pirate aimed his sword, "but 'long as YOU'RE still around, we get a piece o' the cake, too!"

"YEEEAAAAH!"

"Fine, so my grandma and her crewmates beat the living snot and internal liquids out of all you." Augustus retorted. "Do you pirates have nothing better to do with yourselves than gang up on some kid who had nothing to DO with those things? I, for one, had different ideals that Big Mom didn't share. I THOUGHT she shared them, but she was a monster in the end. MY philosophy is about ADVENTURE. And if I'M the only pirate in this ring that GETS that, then I'll swab the deck with every one of you!"

"You think you know better than US, ye scurvy brat? !" Captain Hook aimed the prosthetic he was named after.

"I'm not the guy from a land that never grows up!"

"FRIENDS, we have a game!" Licorice announced. "All competitors, gear up for battle, because once I finish explaining the rules, it's anyone's game. The competing pirate crews have already submitted their wagered doubloons—or whatever currency your kind uses—into the stadium's moat, where it will flow out into the sea and to Davy Jones' Locker, so that the Cursed Captain himself may bear witness to these events. Any pirate crew who is to break the clear established rules of the contest will be sent to Davy Jones' Locker.

"Your crewmen will engage in a variety of contests. Only the crewmen chosen by their captains for the specific contest are allowed to compete. The pirate crew who comes in first for each contest is allowed to pick a member from the crew who comes in last. They may pick _any_ crewmember, including the captain, and that person must switch their loyalties without quarrel." Licorice grinned devilishly. "Sadly, since I am not a pirate, I cannot pick nor be chosen. The victorious pirate crew may also choose to steal the losing crew's Jolly Roger. (Er, their pirate flag, not Hook's ship.) And speaking of Hook, we will consider Princess Aisling to be a member of his crew, therefore she may be won over in a contest. But since she is special, only the crew who wins first place in the end will be allowed to choose her.

"Now, it seems the Big Mom Pirates, however _limited_ their numbers may be," Licorice grinned again, "are choosing to compete. We will see how long they last, but the first pirate crew to lay waste to Augustus von Fizzuras will score extra points for their crew. These are the rules, is everyone clear?"

"JUST A SECOND." Augustus yelled. "The Big Mom Pirates are NOT competing! We are the Marzipan Pirates, and the four founding members are your opponents!" Augustus threw five Chocolate Coins into the moat.

"HE MEANS US, TOO? !" The Deadly Babies panicked. ("Mw-mw!")

"Our mistake: The _Marzipan_ Pirates will compete, and abide by our rules. Pirate crews, pick your member: the first match of the competition will be a dogfight. We will drop a bunch of scattered parts onto the field: you must construct a plane, go to the sky, and wait for your enemies to come up and dish away at you. You may not disrupt the other crewmen's construction, and you can only fight once you have craft in the sky. You have two minutes, so hurry up and choose!"

Augustus stomped forward, "A dogfight is my kinda game! I'm takin' this one, guys."

"Are you even listening to us? !" Stewie shouted. "We're going to get CREAMED in this fight! (And that was without trying to make a candy pun!) Why the hell do you care about some damn 'fairy'? !"

"It isn't just the fairy I wanna rescue." Augustus stated, starting a new lollipop. "If I'm serious about our pirate crew, we have to show all the others what we're made of. They're already talking down on us 'cause we're the washed-up Big Mom Pirates, so we have to show them we ain't tied to those bozos! Also, that fairy might be able to restore my Haki. But even if she can't, it wouldn't hurt to toughen you kids up, too."

"Competing in this tournament," Licorice announced, "our crews have chosen: from the Marzipan Pirates, Augustus Fizzuras! From the Slag Pirates, the Silver Bullet! From the Hook Pirates, Mr. Smee! From the Kremling Krew, Snide the Weasel! And from the Boogey Pirates, Aragon. Pilots: CONSTRUCT!" He shot the gun skyward.

The five chosen pirates claimed a pile of scrap and began to shuffle around for parts. "Let's see, rusty propeller," Augustus mumbled, tossing a piece aside, "made of wood, this engine doesn't look bad…"

"The Silver Bullet is ready and UP in the air!" Lord Licorice declared, startling Augustus into looking up. "Now he must wait for his opponents! Oh, did I mention that the first crew who finishes their craft can choose a member from the last crew who finishes? It's a double-contest, how fun!"

 _"Hurry and get up here, you Slowbros!"_ Silver Bullet yelled with a faulty voice program. He appeared to be a robot of shiny, silver metal, with a single glowing red eye.

"Damn, he's fast!" Augustus exclaimed. "I better hurry!"

Minutes had passed: Aragon, who was an Aeralfos, attached propellers to his wings, along with laser turrets, and took off next. Snide completed a hovercraft that was a man-size version of the Flying Krock. "YES!" Augustus created a cheaper version of the _Ace Flyer_ and flew off, leaving Smee on the ground.

"SMEEEEEE! HURRY!" Captain Hook roared.

"I'm sorry, Captain! I'm missing one propeller blade!" Smee was hunched over and searching around the ground like a dog. "Oh, blast it, where is it?"

Captain Hook moaned, clearly seeing the blade in the back of Smee's pants.

"Sigh, that could've been bad." Augustus sighed in relief. "I better take out these guys before they- WHOA!" Lasers shot at his left wing, so he barrel-rolled away. "-cut off my sentence!"

 _"That's one new crewmate for the Slag Pirates!"_ the Silver Bullet declared, chasing Augustus. _"And once you're gone, I'll be happy to claim your Jolly Roger."_

Augustus dove downward while constantly barrel-rolling, then he flew back up to rapidly shoot the Bullet. The robot's superb plane withstood the attacks and kept flying forward, so Augustus dodged upward, then flew horizontal again. He saw Snide flying behind him, locking onto the shabby plane before launching two missiles. Augustus saw Aragon several meters away, and the Aeralfos retreated when the Marzipan gave chase. Aragon turned around to cough fireballs, but Augustus evaded. He stomped the gas pedal to catch up to, then zip past Aragon, and the missiles now locked on the demon. Aragon blasted his laser turrets to shoot the missiles down.

Augustus whipped the plane around to shoot at Aragon, destroying his left turret. The Silver Bullet began shooting at Augustus from the left, so the teen flew down and under the robotic pilot. He did a U-turn to get behind the robot, rapidly blasting laser bullets, but Silver Bullet switched on a bubble barrier to protect himself. "AUGH, you rusty smartass!"

 _"Thank you! I take pride in my intelligent rumpus."_ The robot remarked.

"Heh! That bubble won't be very convenient if you can't see through it." Augustus boosted forth and got above the hi-tech plane. He pushed a button that opened a hatch under his plane, dropping oil on the bubble. _"What the-? !"_

"Say ¡Enciéndelos!" Augustus slowed down, blasted the oil, and set the bubble aflame.

 _"AAAAAAAAHHHH!"_

"Sorry, Bullet, but I'm taking from YOUR crew-"

The bottom of Augustus's plane was rammed by another at whipping speed. He hacked out his lollipop as his plane fell to pieces. As he fell, he looked at his assaulter. "SMEEEEEE!" Captain Hook jumped with joy. "WELL done!"

"I knew my lucky fan blade would come in handy!" Smee said.

Stewie Griffin rushed onto the field and blasted his anti-gravity gun to break Augustus's fall, setting him gently on the ground. "Augustus, are you okay?" Stewie asked.

"Yeah…" He scratched his head. "Talk about a cheap shot."

"This means they gonna take one of us, don't it? !" Rallo exclaimed.

"Afraid so… We might as well watch the rest of the show."

The four remaining pirates continued to battle. Smee was wiped out by Aragon, Snide was defeated by the Silver Bullet, and he was shot down by Aragon. "The winner of the dogfight is ARAGON of the BOOGEY PIRATES! And since the Marzipan Pirates were shot down first, Captain Mandy may take a member from their cr-"

"HOLD UP." Mandy spoke up. "Why would I wanna take a member from that petty little crew? I'd sooner take somebody who's more worth my time. I choose to take from the Kremling Krew… K. LUMSY!"

"Are you DAFT? !" K. Roolenstein exclaimed. "That is a violation of the rules! You were only supposed to take from the last-place crew, not-"

Mandy shot a Scare Stare at the Kremling. "The Grim Reaper fears my gaze! Am I to be afraid of Davy Jones?"

"Gulp!" The Kremling's spine tingled. "K-K. Lumsy! Over heeeere!"

The stadium began to shake under the rhythm of footsteps. Everybody looked to the north side of the stadium as two massive green claws gripped the roof. A Kremling of incredible size, with a large yellow belly, emerged. _"Uuuurr… do you want meeee?"_

"Guess what, you oversized reptilian: you're now a member of the Boogey Pirates!" Mandy shouted. "You will abandon your allegiance to the Kremlings and swear loyalty to me!"

"Why do you even want him?" Baron asked. "Despite his colossal size, he hasn't the guts to dismember a fly!"

"Fear can do a lot of things to a mortal."

"And since the Slag Pirates completed their craft first," Licorice reminded, "they may take a member from the Hook Pirates."

"Marvelous!" Slag beamed. "Which member of yer crew can play the accordion?"

 _"I can!"_ a random pirate from the audience yelled.

"Ay will take him!"

"Phew… we got lucky there." Augustus sighed.

"Mw-mw? ! Mw-mw-mw-mw-mw-mw-mw-mw-mw-mw! !" Maggie flailed her arms in anger. ("Lucky? ! You'll be lucky if they don't order me to shoot you if they win me over!")

"Don't worry, Maggie, I'm working on a plan. Even if we don't score 1st place, we might still be able to save the fairy and get outta here. For now, you'll all have to pull your weight in this thing."

"That's not what she said, but, we'll let you believe that." Stewie replied.

"Our next bout is what I call the Search and Shoot!" Lord Licorice began. "We will shroud the ring in darkness while your choice crewmen wander a maze and shoot the others with classic laser lights! However, our fair audience will be able to monitor your actions via the TV screens, from the perspective of Nightvision cameras. If a player is shot three times, they lose. Keep in mind that you are not allowed to shoot your opponents with REAL guns, or you will be disqualified. Choose your pirates and we will begin!"

"Maggie, it's up to you!" Augustus told the youngest baby. "You were Big Mom's best sniper, so it's time to remind 'em that!"

"Mw-mw-mw-mw!" Maggie flailed her arms and pointed at her eyes.

"She said her vision is still weak, and I left her goggles on the plane!" Stewie shouted.

"Ugh- Well, how weak is it still, can't you try?"

"Mw-mw…" Maggie tried to Zoom in to the distant audience, but her eye twitched with soreness, so she retracted her vision.

"Sigh, well you're going to have to tough it out. I have a plan…"

"The five crews have chosen their players!" Licorice announced once more. "But I will not announce them for the sake of secrecy. Please, enter the tent!" The chosen contestants entered a huge dark tent that lowered over the field. A maze had also risen from the floor, and it was nearly pitch-black inside. Maggie noticed the glow coming from the Nightvision cameras. "Shooters… hunt!"

Maggie clutched her laser gun tight and moved about the maze carefully. _"It's all up to you, Maggie."_ Augustus's words rang in her mind. _"Not only do you gotta win, you have to find the Boogey Pirate member and take him out first. I know you can do it, Mags. You were the most feared sniper on the Seven Seas, so it's time to prove it."_

He was right… Maggie was the greatest sniper in the Big Mom Pirates. Her name was known across the sea, she was feared by all. She killed Charles Burns, one of the Corporate Presidents. Even though she was a child, she earned a bounty of $56,000 (as well as the equivalents in all respective countries). She had to follow her captain's plan… only she could-

"The contestant of the Slag Pirates, Killbot 4625, is the first to fall! That means whoever wins may claim from their crew."

"Defeated by Army Dillo, no less." Baron K. Rool stroked his own chin. "As an animal, his senses are heightened, and we have trained him to recognize any scent. The exhaust from robots, the rum-soaked breath of a swabbie, the Hell-rotten stench from demons, or even an infant's baby powder. As our top gunman, no prey escapes his nose!"

"Darn it!" Augustus stomped his foot. "Just focus on winning, Maggie! !"

Hearing his voice, Maggie flinched and whipped out her real gun. She began shooting the tent's ceiling rapidly, poking holes everywhere. "Red flag! RED FLAG!" Captain Hook cried. "She's not supposed to USE a real gun!"

"OBJECTION!" Augustus yelled up at him. "The contestants aren't allowed to shoot their OPPONENTS with real guns! Didn't say they couldn't bring them in for other uses!"

"Captain Fizzuras makes a fair point!" Licorice agreed. "Miss Maggie did not strike her enemies with her bullets. But I see little purpose in making the maze slightly brighter."

"It isn't just brighter." Augustus smirked. "Come on, Mags, you can do it."

Maggie withstood the soreness and used her Zoom-Zoom power to zero in on the tent's holes. She eventually found some that gave her a good view of the large TVs, showing her the positions of enemy snipers. A Bulblin Archer, who was likely the Boogey Pirate, was about to catch her from around the corner, so Maggie swiftly ducked behind a nearby rock. Maggie drew out one of her other guns to shoot floating mirrors, creating a path to the Bulblin so she could shoot her laser three times, reflect around the mirrors, and defeat him.

"The Boogey Pirate contestant, Bobbleton, is defeated! What a clever means of working around the rules!"

"Yes!" Augustus fist-pumped. "Too bad we didn't get him first, but at least now they won't get as many points."

Just then, Maggie was hit by a laser from behind, so she quickly dodged behind the rock, then bolted when the Army Dillo was coming. "Wyee hah hah hah!" The armadillo laughed. "You all thought I was killed when I got struck by lightning in the ocean! …Actually, I was, but I was revived by Ganondorf's dumping of the Sanzu River! I won't be made a fool of again!" Using his real bullets, Army shot down Maggie's floating mirrors and began sniffing along the ground for her.

Maggie shot more mirrors into the air, and kept track of Army by where his bullets came from. Maggie didn't bother to stop and look through the tent holes, instead she kept maneuvering around the maze. After turning a corner, she saw the Hook Pirates' marksman across a path, dodging his lasers to go down a right path. The pirate attempted to chase the baby, but Army Dillo caught up to where they were, and Maggie heard him successfully land a hit on the Hook Pirate. The two were in a shooting squabble, during which Army was hit, so Maggie made her way around the maze to get behind them.

She followed a good path using her mirrors, and got behind Army before landing a harmless laser blow. The Hook marksman got away, so Army whipped around to chase Maggie. The child unfortunately got to a dead end, and Army snickered once he had her cornered. Maggie evasively dodged his lasers left and right, then shot a mirror into the air. The same time Army successfully hit Maggie, the girl bounced her own laser off the mirror to hit Army. "Army Dillo of the Kremling Krew is out! Now it's down to these two crews."

"SHE'S OVER HERE!" Army Dillo yelled before leaving the maze. Maggie glared with anger, running around the maze before she and the Hook marksman cornered each other. He was a tall and skinny pirate with a five-o'clock shadow and blue-and-white-striped shirt. He nimbly dodged Maggie's lasers before he struck the baby with his own. "THE WINNERS ARE THE HOOK PIRATES! And since the Slag Pirates lost first, they may take a member from their crew."

"I'll just be taking my accordion player back, Slag Old Boy." Captain Hook told the robot captain.

 _"Do you even know what my name is?"_ the audience pirate yelled.

"SILENCE!"

"Our next contest will be the Dread Race!" Lord Licorice announced. "Captain Slag took the courtesy of setting up this _lovely_ Gravity Track, and programmed this set of karts to roll up it freely. Choose the most fitting pirate for the job, and let them choose a kart. The other crewmen cannot interfere with the race, but the competing pirates can use whatever means necessary to win. The first place pirate crew can choose a member from last place. You will have five minutes to pick a kart!"

"Hokay." Augustus clapped hands. "Which one o' you is great at racing games?"

"Oo-oo!" Rallo jumped, raising his hand. "I am! I want that car that looks like a boombox!" He pointed to a kart that was designed like a large boombox, with a stereo on the front and back.

The Marzipans went over to observe its controls. "Wow, it _is_ like a boombox." Stewie said. "But how can you tell what the buttons do?"

"Easy! Turnin' up the volume speeds you up, turnin' it down is brakes, and flippin' up and down channels turns you left or right."

"You would know better than us, Monty." Augustus said. "You're up."

"Please don't refer me by that name again."

"Our crews have chosen! From the Marzipan Pirates, Rallo Tubbs, on the Boomboxer! From the Boogey Pirates, Skeeter the Bomskit, on the Treadmill Trekker! From the Kremling Krew, Kass, on the Rocket Barrel! From the Hook Pirates, Sir Big-Legs-and-Small-Body Samuel, on the Convenient-Bike-To-Match-Such-Traits! And lastly, from the Slag Pirates, Hyrule Rusty Pete on the Lever Device!"

"Knock 'em dead, Hyrule Pete!" Termina Pete yelled.

"Ay sure will, Termina Pete (hiccup)!"

"Racers, at the ready!" The five pirates were parked at the starting line, their engines revving. Skeeter's kart was designed like a treadmill, and would move as the speedy demon ran across it. Rusty Pete's kart was like that of a minecart that goes as you move the lever up and down. Sir Big-Legs rode a very tall bicycle, where the pedals were low enough for his long legs to reach. "On your marks! Geeeeet set… You want me to say the 'G' word, don't you? But how long will I make you-"

"JUST GO, YOU IDIOTS!" Mandy shouted.

Licorice shot his gun, and the pirates boosted—with the exception of Rallo, who was otherwise in the middle of the racers. Almost instinctively, the other racers forced their cars into a center, having intended to crush the 5-year-old. "WHOA! Good thinking, Tubbs!" Augustus praised. "But get going, they won't wanna fight each other for long!"

"You got it!" Rallo began to race up a track that went up like a wall, for his kart's wheels were programmed to meld with the altered gravity. The track would go up a loop-di-loop high above the stadium, then would lead over the stadium's roof and out into the jungle. When he rammed through some ? Blocks at the loop's top, his item select landed on Place Swap, which were a green and red arrow making a circle. "I ain't ever see this in _Mario Kart_. I wonder what it does?" Rallo pushed the activate button, and the icon was launched along the track, spinning and glowing. It missed Rusty Pete in 4th place and caught Kass, who was in 3rd place. Rallo found the icon appeared around him, and he and Kass switched positions.

"BOO YEAH!" Rallo cheered. "Now I just- wh-whoa, WHOOOA!" Since he was now in Cinnamon Jungle, he accidentally rammed the spiked stalk of an outstretched Apple Piranha. Rusty Pete got past him, so Rallo quickly backed up with the Rewind button and got around the Piranha Plant. Rallo drove through more jungle before going up a left vertical gravity track over a cinnamon creek. Kass caught up and shoved Rallo from the right, forcing him to go a left path with several upcoming gaps. "OH, CRAP! Wait! What if I plug this into MY boombox?" Rallo grabbed the plugs in the cockpit and stuck them in the sockets in the back of his afro. He was able to channel his musicbending through and make the car bounce via his booms.

He managed to jump the gaps and go across a series of Boost Pads, which sent him up a ramp as his kart's glider activated. He soared ahead of Kass and Pete, and nabbed a single ? Block before the ramp. He landed on a Power Star and became invincible, driving through the field of Apple Piranhas without trouble. He was catching up to Sir Big-Legs and knocked him aside, claiming 2nd place, but Skeeter was still keeping ahead. Rallo's Star Power wore off by the time the gravity track led them up and around the huge stadium's side. Skeeter had three banana peels in his reserve, so he dropped them on the track and caused Rallo to hit one, making his Boomboxer spin out of control before hitting the side. Big-Legs zipped past him, dropping a Bob-omb that Rallo didn't notice before crashing into it.

Kass got past him, so Rallo got back on track and kept moving before Pete could do the same. The track led back into the stadium, going down a slope before crossing the finish line – completing the first lap. They went up the vertical track to the loop-di-loop again, and when Big-Legs (now in 3rd place) got three Red Shells, he sent them all back to hit Rallo, who narrowly dodged, so Pete got hit instead. "I say, isn't that turtle abuse?" he asked.

"I would say so!" Termina Pete yelled.

Rallo hit the ? Blocks and landed on Blooper, so he sent the aerial squid out to ink all the other racers. Big-Legs lost traction and drove into the cinnamon creek, letting Rallo get past and go up the gravity track over said creek. He chose to take the left shortcut again, using his boombox to bounce the gaps, but it seemed Skeeter took this route, too. The Bomskit purposely slowed down, then grabbed the ? Block before going up the glider ramp, so that the block didn't respawn in time before Rallo could get it. They soared across the cinnamon swamp, and Rallo remained in 2nd place as he chased Skeeter through the Piranha Plant garden. He gasped and dodged left when a piranha almost bit him, going up the gravity track around the stadium.

"WAAAAH!" Rallo was blown aside by a huge Bullet Bill – which was actually Rusty Pete's kart, transformed after collecting said item from a ? Block. It wore off before Skeeter could be hit, and Rallo finished the 2nd lap in 3rd place. Their karts flew up the loop-di-loop, and Rallo collected a ? Block that landed on three Red Shells. He blasted at Rusty Pete and got past him, then quickly blasted forward to hit Skeeter. The Bomskit withstood each shot with three Green Shells, and as Rallo chased him across the shortcut path, he growled with rage when the monster claimed the ? Block first.

"WHOA!" Lightning struck the racers, cast by 5th place Kass, shrinking all except her. Since Rallo was going up the glider ramp at the time, his glider didn't activate and he fell onto the normal track. However, Skeeter, who was already flying over the swamp, ended up falling in and trapped. "RALLO, musicbending gets rid of ailments!" Augustus yelled.

Rallo quickly blasted music and stretched himself to normal. He kept racing, and made it to first place. He didn't hesitate or look back as he maneuvered the Apple Piranha garden, and when he made it up and around the stadium path, it looked like first place belonged to him. "Ladies and gentlemen, Montclair Tubbs is goin' for the goal!" Rallo announced as he zeroed in on the finish. "He kicks the ball, and…!"

Skeeter blasted past him with Star Power he had conveniently collected in the swamp, along with a Gold Shroom in the piranha garden. "NOOOO!" Augustus and the babies screamed. Rallo regained himself and crossed the finish, still winning 2nd place.

"THE BOOGEY PIRATES WIN AGAIN!" Licorice announced with apparent delight. "Since Sir Big-Legs didn't move his legs fast enough, Captain Mandy may take from Hook's crew."

"The Fairy Princess is MINE, you Han Solo wannabe!" Mandy pointed at Hook.

 _"I told you never to mention that topic to me."_ Hook stated through gritted teeth. "And you can't claim her unless you've won the whole thing!"

"Very well." Mandy marched up to Lord Licorice and took his mike. "LISTEN UP, you sweaty post-college frat boys: the Fairy Princess is hereby reserved to me, myself, and I! Should any of you be lucky enough to come in first place, I will challenge your entire crew myself. To the victor will go the spoils. Do we have an understanding?"

 **"AAAAAARRRRRRHHHHHHHH!"**

"'Arrrrrrr' yourself."

"Yes, well, thank you for making that point, Miss Mandy." Licorice took his mike back. "Which brings us to our next challenge: the Combat Brawl. Simply beat up your opponents with good old martial arts. Your other crewmen may not aid you. Crews, choose your strongest combatants, and we will begin."

"Well, we're boned." Stewie slumped in defeat. "Unless you truly expect to pull your Haki back out of your arse again."

"Not quite yet, Stew." Augustus started a new lollipop. "I'm pickin' you for this one."

"What- Me? ! How do you expect ME to do this?"

"Don't you still have your Devil Fruit powers?"

"Well, I…I haven't really tried since that battle. But I can't unless I become angry."

"You were angry at me for signing us up for this, right?"

"That isn't the point!"

"Stewie, just go for it! And make sure you take out the Mandy Crew's guy out first, you got it?"

"Ugh. This is becoming rinse and repeat. Very well… I'll give it my all."

"From the Boogey Pirates," Licorice began, "they have chosen their newest member, K. Lumsy! From the Slag Pirates, Sprocket! From the Kremling Krew, their Division Commander, Lord Fredrik! From the Hook Pirates, Popeye! And the Marzipans have gladly offered up… Stewie Griffin? !"

Indeed, the football-headed baby looked very small compared to all those muscular combatants. Popeye was a sailor with a pipe in his mouth, and the ends of his arms were larger than his skinnier base ends. Lord Fredrik was a very large walrus with a Viking helmet, and his eyes were monstrous. Sprocket was a large robot with an oven for a stomach, but the biggest brute there was definitely K. Lumsy.

 _"But New Captain Mandy, I don't wanda fight."_ The giant Kremling said in a simple-minded tone. _"Dat baby and dat walrus and dat guy who looks like a doll are cuuuute."_

"Awwwe… I'm sorry, Klumsy." Mandy spoke with a warm, loving voice, getting level with K. Lumsy's head using a floating boat. "Was my order not clear?" She gently patted Klumsy's head. He glanced at the smaller woman, tears dripping from his eyes. "Perhaps you need to… look me in the EYE!" Her dark eyes shone with fear.

 _"BOOOUUUUURRRR!"_ That one little glance threw the giant crocodile into nightmares.

 _K. Lumsy was chained to the ground by human people, who were whipping him and cutting him with swords. All the giant croc did was cry, his moans echoed as he begged for mercy, but they passed it off as 'crocodile tears' and continued to torture. Then the K. Rool Brothers marched into town, Kaptain Kruckers shot all the people to death. Kroctus cut the chains binding the giant. "You are a perfect specimen for the Kremling Krew. Come with me, and we will put your strength to good use."_

 _Then, Kroctus ordered him to squish an island full of monkeys. Those monkeys were so cute, K. Lumsy couldn't bear to do it… but then, the giant found the remains of dead Kongs squished under his feet. He had crushed the entire jungle into ruin. No matter what he tried to do, he was a giant, and a monster._

 _"OOOOUUUURRRR!"_ The fear drove K. Lumsy mad, the giant Kremling charged into the field and stomped his foot down on Lord Fredrik. The Snowmad Boss kept his foot up with his great strength and pushed the giant away. Popeye pulled out some spinach and chucked it in his mouth: his arms puffed bigger as he ran at Sprocket to throw punches, and the larger robot countered with equal strength.

"Stewie, hurry up and go Hulk!" Augustus yelled.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Stewie yelled, trying to channel his frustration. "Nnnnnnngggh!" The baby succeeded in puffing his right arm, albeit still peach-colored, and threw a punch at an incoming Lord Fredrik. K. Lumsy roared as he charged to Sprocket and Popeye, swinging his tail to knock them away. Stewie pushed the ground with his huge arm and bounced over, grabbing onto Klumsy's right ankle. _"RRRRRRRR!"_ The giant angrily shook his leg and flung Stewie away, then made a great leap to flatten the infant under his behind.

"Cough, uah!" Stewie coughed after Klumsy got off. "That's worse than my father!"

"Come on, Stewie!" Augustus cheered. "Remember all that oppression you had to endure in your family! Your dad comin' in drunk and passing out in your bedroom, your mom ignoring your intelligence, your sister using your hands as floss, and not to mention that dog stealing the script you wrote! Big Mom knew you were the perfect body for the Hulk-Hulk Fruit, and that was why! The most misunderstood person in his family needs to unleash his anger!"

"Grrrrr!" Stewie tried to channel more anger, but only his left leg grew to Hulk size. He began to walk with his right arm and left leg, grabbing Sprocket and throwing him at Fredrik, but Popeye leapt and punched the baby to the ground.

"Oh for GOD'S sake, Stewie!" his captain yelled again. "You have a DOLL of Popeye! Just pretend he's that doll and kick him-"

"Nngh, will you JUST SHUT UP SO I CAN CONCENTRATE!" Stewie's eyes flashed yellow, and within seconds, he had morphed into his full Hulk form. K. Lumsy grabbed the monster and punched him with his other hand before throwing Stewie on the ground. K. Lumsy fell forward to crush the Hulk, but Stewie lifted him up by the belly and twirled the giant around. He tossed Klumsy to push Sprocket and Fredrik away, then grabbed the giant by the tail before swinging him around to knock down his opponents.

Stewie hurled K. Lumsy straight at the _Jolly Roger_ , destroying a huge chunk of the ship. K. Lumsy crashed back on the stadium floor, and everyone looked as the net holding Princess Aisling was dangling by its metal rope. "Stewie, now's your chance!" Augustus said eagerly. "Go for it!"

The infuriated Hulk spared a glance at the teenage captain, then looked up at the dangling metal net. Stewie squatted, and used the strength of his Hulk legs to make the incredible leap to the ship that was 40 meters in the air. Aisling gasped and backed away when the monster grabbed hold of her net. Stewie roared loudly as he began shaking and tugging the net. Inevitably, the device that was holding the net came off, and they both plummeted to the stadium floor. However, they landed on Klumsy's large belly, and the giant released a large "HACK!"

All of the pirates roared with protest when Stewie forced the top of the net open, reached inside, and grabbed the ghostly-white fairy forcefully. The other three combatants were charging to attack him, so Stewie leapt, squished Popeye to the ground, used his free hand to grab Fredrik's head, then shoved him into Sprocket's oven chest. The walrus screamed with his head on fire, laying a furious beatdown on the robot once he was out. With another amazing leap, Stewie went over the stadium's roof and escaped into the jungle with Aisling in his arm.

"AFTER THEM!" Lord Licorice pointed furiously in Stewie's direction. "Send all available crewmen to catch that monster and BRING BACK the fairy! And send some people to apprehend the Marzipan Pirates for…" He looked down at the field. "What? Where are they? !"

Augustus, Rallo, and Maggie seized the chance to run up to the defeated K. Lumsy. "Psst, hey Klumsy! Can you hear me?"

 _"Sniff… nooooo!"_ The giant Kremling was crying. A puddle of tears had already formed around his head. _"I don't wanda fight anymore! I wanda run away! I wanda run where no one will find me! Where no oned will be mean to me!"_

"Well, not to sound self-centered, but we're kind of in the same boat as you." Augustus was telling him rushedly. "Our pirate crew is really tiny, but all these guys have been doing is ganging up on us! Help us escape, and you can join our crew!"

 _"No!"_ K. Lumsy shook his arms and legs like a baby. _"I don't wanda! You gonna make me fight! Dat's what K. Rool bade me do! Dat's what New Captain Mandy bade me do! Don't bake be fight, too!"_

"I won't make you fight, I promise! Just get us outta here, you're the only chance we got at escape!"

"There they are, let's get 'em!" A swarm of Slag and Hook Pirates were entering the ring.

K. Lumsy sniffled. _"You won't bake be fight?"_

"No, I won't bake bou fight- I bean, make you- JUST HELP US, PLEASE!"

"Mw-mw!" Maggie whipped out her guns to shoot the Hook Pirates while Rallo shot sonic waves at the Slag Pirates. Unfortunately, some of the pirates got through and grabbed hold of the helpless children.

K. Lumsy's eyes widened at the cruel pirates' actions (upside-down in his position). _"LEAVE DOSE KIDS ALONE!"_ The giant Kremling jumped to his feet and reached down to grab the two babies. Afterwards, he grabbed Augustus and rushed to one of the stadium's corners. The audience members screamed and cowered away when K. Lumsy climbed over them, then leapt over the roof to run across the jungle.

"This Davy Back Fight is suspended!" Lord Licorice announced. "All pirates are ordered to return to their ships and pursue the traitors! Take back the Fairy Princess at all costs!"

"A WORD about that, if you will." Mandy grabbed Licorice's arm and dragged him down into her ship.

"AAAH!" Lord Licorice was thrown into Mandy's cabin. The woman shut the door as she entered. "What are you getting angry at me for? ! I didn't order them to take her!"

"But it was YOUR idea to capture Augustus and force him to compete! You said your plan to walk out of here with the fairy was foolproof."

"With YOU in these games, how couldn't it have been foolproof? ! I let you be the scary, intimidating empress you are and ignore the technical rules so you could win the Fairy Princess. But I still had to make myself look good in front of these salty demons by bringing the grandson of the most despised pirate; not to mention, Mr. Augustus is still wanted by the Government. Perhaps if YOU hadn't taken K. Klutzy and ordered him to fight, they wouldn't have gotten away! I mean, sure we couldn't have anticipated that Unbelievable Hulk trick, but even less reason I shouldn't-"

Mandy kicked the Candy Lord in the face and knocked him against her throne. "You know what happens if you say 'couldn't', 'wouldn't', or 'shouldn't' to me. Our deal was that you would help me take the Fairy Princess from Hook's crew, and I would lend my demons to you to find and destroy the Lost Candies. Unless you would rather hunt for and destroy them yourself."

"And I would just _love_ to do that, if half of those candies weren't so well-protected! His Majesty has tasked me with nothing more than to destroy those atrocities, but my candy-based resources are, shall we say… lacking in power. But I wouldn't like His Majesty to know that. Just help me out, keep it a secret that I'm working with pirates, and no one else has to know _you_ have the Fairy Princess. Besides, it's not like we weren't going to pursue and burn any crew that tried to steal her, don't you agree?"

"Sigh… very well. But your story about the princess better have meaning behind it. Or you'll regret it." Mandy left the cabin on that note.

Lord Licorice helped himself up, fixed his hat, and straightened his bowtie. His eyes were shadowed under his hat. _Working with pirates… the very idea is disgraceful. Just like when Big Brother John chose to leave the family and go pirating. Sure, I'm posing as their friend now… but I'll have them dealt with soon enough._

 **Enclosed bay; two hours later…**

The four pirate crews followed the trail of smashed trees to a cliffside looking over a large bay. There was no other sign as to where the giant Kremling could have gone. Dark gray clouds were appearing in the sky, and the heavy wind told them it would rain. "HUUUFF!" Mr. Smee emerged from the sea below. "I'm sorry, Cap'n, but the sea is too murky! I can't see them anywhere."

"Ohgh… Climb back up the ladder, Mr. Smee." Captain Hook sighed. "It's obvious that those scurvy brats have swum away with that overgrown reptile. We'll never be able to find them in the storm. Let's all hurry back and fix the _Jolly Roger_. Slag, you better call your men back, too."

"Arrrr… he be right, old Hooky." Slag sighed. "Mates, let's go! Or we will rust."

 _"Pardon me, Captain,"_ the Silver Bullet spoke, _"but normally, crocodiles cannot swim very well in the ocean. And I highly doubt a reptile of his stature would get very far, let alone in this type of weather. They could still be in the bay. I could send my aqua drones to track them down."_

"Could ye now? Orright, then… Ay'll leave it to you. But return to base when yer done." Slag and his two Petes marched away.

The Silver Bullet grabbed his head and pulled it off… Underneath her helmet, she was a mouse girl with purple fur, who shook her long orange hair free. "Man, that thing is stuffy. Hokay then, time to find us some runaways…"

 **Seaside cave**

After diving into the ocean, K. Lumsy swam around the bay and into a large cave. He climbed onto a shore and hacked the four Marzipans, plus Princess Aisling, out of his mouth. _"Hooff, hoof…"_ The giant Kremling sat in the back of the cave to catch his breath. _"I storry, guys. I didn't know what to do…"_

"Cough… It's okay, big guy." Augustus gasped. "At least we got away from them. …" He looked at Princess Aisling, whose white hair was wet with saliva, drooping over her face. When she sat up, Augustus gently moved her hair away to see her young, pretty face. "Are you okay?"

"Okay? !" Aisling smacked his hands away and stood up angrily. "I have been trapped in that smelly old ship for almost seven, _months_. Then this large brute of a mutant baby takes me away, and now I was chucked into the mouth of a _similar_ creature. Of _course_ I am not okay." She folded her arms and turned away. "In fact, I have never been disrespected in such a manner for all my life. You're lucky I had the right state of mind to calm your friend down."

"Huff…huff…" Stewie was panting on the ground, his clothes ripped from using his Hulk form.

"I could feel that child's pain inside his heart. Perhaps he was suffering in that form. It must be hazardous for him."

"Um… Thanks." Augustus said. "So, Fairy Princess… are you really a-"

" _Yes_ , I am really the Forest Fairy Princess. You may call me Aisling. And I assume you wanted me for the same purpose as those other brutes." She whipped around and shot her face into his, startling the teen boy. "Well, let me tell you." She was glaring scoldingly. "My lifebending powers are unavailable at the moment. I have transferred the extent of my powers to somebody else." She folded arms and turned away in a smug fashion. "You wasted your time."

Augustus shook his head, "Er- Wait a second… does that mean you couldn't restore my Haki?"

"HAKI?" Aisling shot back in his face again with a sarcastic shocked look. "Why would I be able to give you HAKI? Haki is something you _learn_ , and no magic can make you master of something so wondrous as a martial art."

"But I already WAS a master of Haki! I just lost it because of the Candy Virus!"

"Oh, yes, the infamous virus that plagued that dreadful Linlin Family. I've never seen anything so disgusting and unnatural. Even worse when I tried to study it. But your situation makes sense, because you still have fragments of the virus inside you."

"Wait, I do? !"

"Of course you do. It's not enough to cause too much damage, though. But don't expect _me_ to get it out for you. Such unnatural poison is beyond my power."

"Oh…" Augustus looked away. _Maybe I can find that girl again to get it out of me. But I'm not sure where she lives…_

"But I guess I _do_ owe you for saving me." Aisling said. "So I will tell you who _could_ remove it for you."

"You could? Who?"

Aisling stood on her tippy-toes to get up in his face with wide eyes. "The Princess of Sugar Fairies."

". . . Why do you do that?"

"It's better than what you do." She backed away.

"But, Sugar Fairies… don't those things hang out in the Cotton Clouds?"

"Well, they're actually pretty sociable, especially in candy places. But I bet you don't know where their homeland is."

"Actually, I do." Augustus began a new lollipop. "I'm just not sure how to find it."

"Then I will help you. But we won't be able to escape if those monsters are out there."

"So, what's your idea?"

Aisling tapped her chin in thought. She looked up at K. Lumsy, who had his arms wrapped around his legs. "I believe this creature can make do."

 **Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

"Here, Gerald, this Hair-Strengthener should do the trick!" Facilier said as he tossed a small spray bottle to one of his customers. His shop was overcrowded with excited kids. "Even a lightsaber couldn't cut it! Jennifer, this Portable Portal Pill can let you eat a ocean of sugar puffs, you won't gain a shred of weight! Wears off after a day, so watch out. Come on, kids, one at a time, take it easy!"

After everyone else had finally gone, the brown-haired girl with a gray jacket, Samantha, walked in. "Hey, Mr. Facilier. Did I come at a bad time?"

"Eh, I've had busier days." he said coolly, straightening his hat back on. "'Course, you wouldn't know about a renegade witch fairy who goes around planting curses."

"Uhhh… I guess not." She blushed confusedly. "So, anyway, you remember when I said my brother's in the KND? Well, he told me that the KND is actually leaderless… Like, he never mentioned it before, and now he's really worried about it… So, he's wondering what happened to the last leader. Do you think your… crystal ball could show me?"

"That's a bit much for the crystal ball, considering you aren't affiliated with them. Perhaps the spirits may tell me something. Give me a sec." Facilier closed his eyes and touched fingers to his forehead.

Under the table, his shadow was looking at a 4x4 laptop, checking the KND's files. After viewing information about some guy named 'Cheren', Shadow spoke telepathically to his master. Samantha could read the confused looks Facilier was making, as if someone invisible was talking to him. He opened his eyes and said, "The spirits tell me that the KND's current leader is… 'Cheren Uno.' But I must say, I ain't ever heard of such a boy. Did your brother ever mention him?"

"I…I don't remember."

"Well, one thing's for certain, there is a mysterious air floating about. My head's been a little foggy. I'm sorry if you wanted to hear more."

"I guess it doesn't matter." Samantha stood up. "I'll ask my brother about Cheren, I guess. I'll see you later." She left the shop.

"Hmmm…" Facilier stroked his forehead with his fingers, still contemplating this 'Cheren' character. "Well, whatev." He used magic to lock the shop door. "WENDY!"

The ceiling hatch opened as Wendy climbed down, followed by Carla and the Ice Climbers. "Is the shop closed, Mr. Facilier?"

"Sure is! Now pull up a chair and let's begin!"

Wendy, dressed in her emerald pattern dress, politely sat on the chair across the table. "First, Wendy, explain Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration."

"Uhhhhh…" Wendy pressed her forehead in thought. "It's like… you can't make food appear… but you can multiply it, and warp it from somewhere else… and you can make it bigger."

"Explain the science behind it, Child." Carla told her with narrowed cat eyes.

"W-Well… the food multiplies because… uh-I dunno! I didn't think magic HAD science!" She pressed her head harder and was on the verge of crying.

"HA ha ha!" Facilier laughed. "Well, while the food may appear to multiply, the individual ones have a sufficient drop in calories and quality, and it continues to drop the more it's multiplied. When it's enlarged, it's just manipulating space to enlarge its dimensions. But moving on, what can an Armos Spirit and Tektite Shell be combined to make?"

"Um… they make explosives! I think…"

"Super big explosives, of course. Now tell me… what the Sun Chi Lantern can do!"

"Oh!" Wendy perked. "It can draw in the chi from nearby benders and give the user control of those elements!"

"Why is that one so interesting to you?" Carla asked.

"Well, because it only works with benders you have close bonds with." Wendy touched her heart. "It's like having a part of your friends inside of you. It sounds like a warm feeling…"

"But taking their chi would only make the friends weaker." Carla noted. "Sounds a little selfish if you ask me…"

"It isn't really." Facilier said. "There are worse ways to take someone's energy, like the Parasitus Curse, darknessbending, or energybending… This way, it's more like borrowing. And it's stronger because of those good morals and all that. But anyway, I hope you're finally cooled down from those events in Orchid Bay."

"Oh. Yeah, I'm feeling fine now." Wendy blushed, scratching her head. "I'm sorry about… when I cried…"

"Oh, water under the bridge. …Hehe. Get it?" Wendy made a sheepish laugh at this pun. "But if you are, that means you're ready for a brand new quest!"

"All right! !" Wendy jumped in the air. "Where are we going? A field of unicorns? A planet of floating islands? Or maybe a place where people wear shirts for pants and vice-versa!"

"We're goin'…" Facilier wore an eager smirk, standing and raising a brochure. His attempt at suspense made Wendy excited. "…to the _magical_ city of GLITZVILLE!" He slapped the brochure on the table before Wendy.

"GLITZVILLE? ! OH, WOW! . . . What's Glitzville?"

"It's a popular vacation area mostly known for its combat arena, the Glitz Pit. All the greatest fighters like to gather there to let off steam. They don't just have martial artists, they bring in all kinds of rare and unique creatures, including magic ones! I figure it would be a great study assignment for you." He pulled a notebook from out of nowhere.

"Oh. So it's one of those fun field trips, but with homework." Wendy blushed. "Well, it still sounds fun! Do you think I'll learn a lot?"

"Sure you will!" Harvey said perkily. "There's just… one itty-bitty dilemma: it's under Government protection."

"Government protection?" Carla questioned. "Then won't Wendy be in danger?"

"Relax, relax! I have the perfect disguise…"

* * *

 **Leaving it off there because the Davy Back Fight lasted longer than I expected. (In fact, it was going to be longer, but I figured…) Captain Hook comes from _Peter Pan_ , Popeye is from his titular series, Aisling is from _Secret of Kells_ , and the Kremlings are from _Donkey Kong_. K. Lumsy is from _Donkey Kong 64_ , and I sort of gave him a personality quirk where he talks like a baby. Next time, I plan to have more Negaverse action.**


	8. Fake Happiness

**This chapter is somewhat of a cool-down from the Davy Back Fight, but it does set up for other things.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 8: Fake Happiness_**

 **Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

"Perfect!" Facilier proclaimed after finishing his disguise. "I hereby dub thee… Wendell Berry!"

He had dyed Wendy's hair purple and tied it in a ponytail. She wore a large white scarf, a white jacket over a black T-shirt, blue shorts over black skin-tight pants, and white boots. "So, how do I look?" Wendy asked, posing with her fists touching her hips.

"You look like Mulan Ping." Carla said with disbelief.

"Almost, you gotta sound like a boy." Facilier said.

 _"Like this?"_ Wendy said with a rougher voice.

"The sex change was a success!" Sonny jumped.

"I can't even tell the difference!" Donna cheered.

They both wore devilish looks, holding their hammers ready. _"There's just one final test!"_

"Ahhhh!" Wendy yelped, covering her pelvic area.

"We ain't doin' THAT much!" Facilier laughed. "True, there is a spell that can change yo' gender, but I don't think Wendy wants that, does she?"

"This all seems a tad excessive." Carla said. "If the Government makes money off of Glitzville's fights, wouldn't they broadcast it on TV?"

"Of course they would! But how'll you be convinced without seein' it in real life? We goin' to Glitzville, and 'long as Wendell stays in disguise, no one'll ever suspect."

"It's not so bad." Wendy twisted her body to view her sides. "It feels kinda comfy."

"You don't actually _like_ dressing as a boy, do you?" Carla asked.

"No, of course not! !" She flushed.

"HALRIGHT!" Facilier stretched and crackled his fingers. "Who's ready to APPARATE?"

"Not me! !" Wendy wept.

"Then it's GOOD that we ain't doing that! Sadly, Glitzville never stays in one zone, so no one can ever Apparate to it perfectly. Luckily, I have mah own way of goin' 'ere."

"Not another Knight Bus…" Carla dreaded the idea.

"Let's go up to the kiddies' room, it's in there." Facilier climbed the ladder to the ceiling hatch as the others followed. They crossed the narrow passage between the beds, then Facilier unveiled a secret door in the opposite wall. In this dark, secret room, the witch-doctor climbed into a roundish container-like thing, with room for Wendy, the Ice Climbers, and the small kitten.

"Mr. Facilier, what is this?" Wendy asked.

"Are we in a magic cauldron?" Sonny inquired.

"Will we be baked with carrots and onions?" Donna followed.

 _"For some reason, our game has fresh vegetables on snowy tundras."_ Both twins chorused.

"Everybody buckled in?" Facilier began. "Then awaaaay WE GO!"

The daylight shone on them when the ceiling opened, and the thing they were in uplifted to the air. They came out of a hatch on a building roof, riding a giant black hat with Facilier's crossbones on it. A balloon that looked like an inflatable Facilier, with a creepy grinning face and googly eyes, emerged from the hat and allowed them to float above the clouds. "WHOOOOOAAA!" Sonny and Donna gaped.

"W…We're flying!" Wendy exclaimed with purest delight. "We're actually flying! !"

"If you consider this 'flying.'" Carla remarked. "What is that unsightly balloon?"

"Oh, one of my customers made that." Facilier noted. "She's, uh… She's an odd one, all right. Ahem, excuse the late introductions. Kids, thank you for choosing Facilier Airlines as your method of travel. Please keep all hands inside the hat, and as faithful passengers, it is your job to keep watch for any birds that threaten our balloon in any way."

"Ha ha ha!" Wendy looked over the edge and viewed the amazing landscape that stretched for miles. Carla sat on her head to look with her. "This view is so wonderful! It's so much better than riding one of those scary ships."

"Yes, you mentioned you piloted one of the KND's aircrafts once." Carla recalled. "How on Earth would you know how?"

"I… kinda didn't." Wendy blushed. "Just decided to wing it. This must be nothing to you though, Carla. You get to fly all the time."

"Not so much with your heavy body."

"Hey, I'm not that heavy! ! I mean… I would think I lose a lot of weight with all the running I do…"

"Perhaps, but I'm still much smaller than you are."

Wendy felt a light tinge of guilt in her heart. She brought up the question. "Carla… do you ever want to fly away and… look for your family?"

"What do you mean?"

"W-Well… I feel like we're just keeping you with us when… you seem like you can fly perfectly. You could… look for your home yourself."

"Maybe. But I already told you I'm not too concerned about finding my home. I'm perfectly happy with helping you, Child."

"Heheh… Still, if you wanted to fly on your own, now would be a good chance. And since you're a cat, you can protect us from birds!"

"Hm, it all works perfectly, doesn't it?" Carla smirked. "Although I've never had a craving for birds _or_ fish. But perhaps-"

"Actually, y'all might wanna buckle in now." Facilier said as he put on pilot's goggles. "We won't catch up to Glitzville at this rate. Entering JET Mode!" The doctor pulled a lever, retracting the balloon and transforming the hat into a black jet. Its engines revved up, and _ZOOOOM_.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Wendy felt her flesh pull away from her face when the plane flew at a thousand miles per hour.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEE!" The Ice Climbers were no doubt enjoying it.

"MISTER FACILIER, IS THIS REALLY A BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO A KNIGHT BUS?" Carla cried, clutching Wendy's ponytail.

"WE ALMOST THERE!" Facilier shouted, checking a compass inside a glass sphere that was labeled _Glitzville_. There were holographic mile numbers counting down. "Give it five minutes… three… 10 seconds… REVERT!"

He hit the lever, and the jet stopped and transformed to a balloon so suddenly, they felt their flesh fly frontwards instead of back. Carla was blown forward, but she flapped her wings and recomposed herself. "Errrrgh!" She shook her disheveled fur. "I swear, your actions will be the death of us, and when that time comes, I…!" Carla gaped at the floating mass before them. Wendy and the Climbers shared the expression.

It was a bright and lively city on an island hovering in the sky using four rockets on its bottom. The buildings were small and consisted of mostly shops and restaurants. There was a hotel, and close to it, on the island's center, was a huge building that was designed in a Chinese style, and the label over the entrance read _GLITZ PIT_.

The hot-air balloon landed in a parking lot of other such balloons, which bore fun designs like a star with beady eyes, a banana, and the Pokémon Meowth. "Kids, welcome to Glitzville!" Facilier announced. "I hope my secrecy wasn't too much, but you have to admit, it was a fun-"

"BUUUEEEEEEH!" Wendy threw up over the city's railing.

"Oh, right…" Facilier sweatdropped.

"Bleh…" Wendy's barfing receded, but her face was still green. "If this city keeps moving… I don't think I…"

"Sigh… Well, hopefully this can help ya get adjusted. Troia!" Facilier cast the spell on Wendy's stomach. The twisted feeling vanished and her face returned to peach color.

"Phew… thanks. Alright, then." Wendy brushed the loose end of her scarf behind her and looked stalwartly. "It's time for Wendell Berry's adventure in Glitzville!"

 **Somewhere else in town**

"AH HA HA hahahahaha!" The trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth came out of a clothing store named _Glitz Gear_. "This town is truly the most wonderful place over Planet Earth!" Jessie proclaimed cheerfully, clothed in gorgeous pink garb, a sun hat, and reddish-pink sunglasses. "It was so nice of the boss to give us extra money for capturing that Mika woman!"

"Sure, but I was hopin' we'd blow it off on more grub." Meowth said as he and James were carrying bags of many clothes. "Not these useless rags. Besides, shouldn't we be tryin' to hunt the Firstborn like da boss wanted?"

"We will, of course." Jessie replied perkily. "We'll make great disguises out of these clothes. I even bought outfits for the Twilight Town the boss told us about. But who's to say we can't enjoy a little off time and watch some gladiator fights?"

"If the Glitz Pit has any rare Pokémon, it might be worth our while to nab some after they're exhausted from battle." James smirked. "We could dress like backstage guards and make our move then."

"Holy smokes!" Meowth exclaimed, pointing forward. "Look at dat!"

There was a trim witch-doctor in dark skinny clothes, walking with a purple-haired boy with a ponytail, who was walking beside a white cat with wings, walking on her hind legs and wearing a dress with a tie. "Oh, my. That wasn't in the brochure." Jessie said with interest. "What is that?"

"She's da most beautiful mammal I ever set my eyes on." Meowth proclaimed with hearts for eyes.

"But what kind of creature is she? A Pokémon?" James asked.

"This world has a lot of creatures that look like Pokémon, but really aren't." Jessie replied. "Even so, she looks especially different. I think she's worth stealing just because."

"Poifect!" Meowth smirked. "Let's make use o' dese disguises and follow 'em! We'll swipe dat cat when they's least suspecting!"

"I'm going ahead to check out the arena." Dr. Facilier told the children and cat. "Feel free to look around, but meet me at the arena in an hour, kids. And don't forget to watch yourselves." The doctor walked ahead and vanished in the crowds.

"So, where do you want to go first, Carla?" Wendy asked with her disguised voice. "That candy shop looks tasty."

"Dear, must you talk like that to me?" Carla asked.

"What? He said to watch ourselves. I sound enough like a boy, don't I? Wait wait, let me just… ahem." She cleared her throat. _"Testosterone."_

"…" Carla stared in disbelief. "Charming."

"Wendy, Wendy!" Sonny bounced over. "I mean, Wendell, Wendell! There's a picture of you, I mean her-you!"

Wendy and Carla walked over to a board of wanted posters. There were ones of Augustus Fizzuras, King K. Rool, Marine the Raccoon, Mandy McKenzie, and Wendy herself. _"As citizens of our fair world, it is everyone's duty to report any sightings of these criminals."_ The nearby speaker spoke. _"Any help in capturing these dangerous felons is greatly appreciated, and your lives will be less worrisome. Simply reporting the criminals will earn you rewards; we know you humans of average strength will never last one second against such monsters."_

"If he's talking about me, too, I guess I should feel honored." Wendy said.

 _"However, the girl with the red eyes is more annoying than she is monstrous. There is a difference."_

"Well, that's discouraging." Wendy drooped.

"You're not planning to hunt any of these guys, are you?" a boy's voice asked.

"GYAH!" Wendy leapt and whipped around. A familiar boy with dark purple hair and an open vest was behind her. "Romeo- I mean… Boy I've Never Seen!"

"Uh…" Romeo stared at her weirdly. "Have we met?"

"N-No… I…I'm new in town." She said in her guy voice.

"Me too." he replied with a grin. "My school organized a sort of study trip, and I always wanted to come here, so…"

"I'm here to study, too. I heard the arena has magical creatures. Is that true?"

"Not so much as 'magic' creatures, but creatures that… normal humans wouldn't see on a day-to-day basis. Hehe, I just wanna see 'em beat each other up!" Romeo snickered. "Um… Say, you do look kind of familiar. You sure we haven't met?"

"N-No, I…I've never seen you anywhere."

"Oh, well maybe it's just me. I'm Romeo."

"I'm Wend…Wendell Berry. Y-Yeah. There isn't anyone in the world with that name, hehe. Uh, did you wanna look at these?" She stepped away from the posters.

"Oh, I was just a little curious." Romeo approached and skimmed the posters. "It's not like I plan to hunt…?" One poster caught his attention. He took down Wendy's. "Hold on, I know this girl. Didn't I meet her…"

"S-Sorry, I gotta be someplace." Wendy said quickly. "See you later!" She walked away, and Romeo stared after her curiously.

"Sigh… I hate being wanted." The girl sighed sadly. "Er, I mean, I hate being wanted _this_ way… Wait, Carla? W-Where'd you…"

"I'm over here." The kitten was behind the trashcan near the candy shop. "I figured that boy would recognize you if I were around."

"Good point. Well, let's check out this shop."

The shelves inside the colorful store were lined with yummy chocolates, lollipops, and candies Wendy has never seen. The glass shelves at the counter had cupcakes and pies that made her eyes light up. "Ooooohhh…" She pressed her face to a glass case on the counter, her mouth watering. It had a cupcake twice as large, which was sky blue with golden icing. "So tastyyyy…"

"Do you even have money?" Carla asked.

"Mr. Facilier lends me his daily profits. I save a lot. Excuse me," She looked over the empty counter, "does anyone run this store?"

 _"I do, of course!"_ A small fairy flew up on the counter, with blue hair, a blue tuxedo, and adorable red eyes. _"My name's Sally, the Salesman Sugar Fairy!"_

"A Sugar Fairy?" Wendy asked, adored by her cute appearance. "You really own this store?"

 _"I do, of course! I may be small, but I do business! That's why I wear a suit. I need to make big money, so I can live in this big big world!"_

"You're so cute!" Wendy flushed and folded her hands. "I'll be happy to give you my money! How much is this cupcake?"

 _"Two million moneys!"_

"Ehh. . ." Wendy felt her relatively empty pockets.

 _"Tee hee hee! That's why I mostly use it to attract customers. 'Course, if you wanted to buy it, now is your time. We're shipping it somewhere else!"_

"I'm sorry… I don't have enough. Does your store sell ice cream?"

 _"Why, of course! Would you like Flutternut, Burpleberry, or Sunny 'Light?"_

"They all sound so adorable! I'll take them all!"

"I think I should handle the money." Carla said. "Perhaps just Sunny 'Light."

The duo exited the restaurant, both licking orange ice cream that lit in the sun and gave them a delightful sensation. "For a city that's government-protected, it doesn't actually seem that scary." Wendy commented.

"I agree. Although, in spite of the fact they're hunting you, I can't specifically name anything that would make them 'scary.' Even a worldwide government with secret intentions would want to keep its citizens happy. Just look at all of them. Families and friends, buying and eating treats… In my best opinion, if a government wanted to have supreme order and rule, the best way to do that would be to allow its people to live happily and with no apparent turmoil."

"So, even if this city looks happy, there's actually a hidden sadness… Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Mmm hm… Of course, my knowledge is only based on cheap science-fiction. If a town like this had anything that could be interpreted as remotely sad, what do you think it would be?"

"Mmmm… uhhh…" Wendy looked around the lively and colorful city. She felt that Carla was implying the answer was obvious. After a few seconds, her eyes focused on one building. "The Glitz Pit? Y-Yeah, that would make sense." Wendy quickly formed the pieces in her mind. "People come here to watch people and creatures fight. Do you think some of those fighters feel good about this? Like, if they're forced to fight?"

"Very good. Now our good doctor is trying to get us seats." Carla turned to face the arena. "Don't you find any of this a bit suspicious?"

"What're you talking about?"

"I mean Mister Facilier. First, he took us to Orchid Bay, a town in which half of the population was shrouded under a Veil. The citizens were blindly living happy lives, unaware that monsters walked alongside them. In the end, just look at what happened."

"But Carla, that was all an accident." Wendy stated, still feeling guilty about the events. "And plus, most of those monsters weren't evil. They were just afraid of being judged."

"My point is, Wendy, if our theory about the arena is correct, then this town has its own shroud of fake happiness. So I find it suspicious that Facilier would want to take us to these places. I have a feeling that what happened in Orchid Bay wasn't completely an accident."

"Are you saying he _planned_ for all that? But Carla, that's crazy!" Wendy flailed her arms to imply her logic, causing a few droplets to fall from her ice cream. "You would have to suggest Facilier knew Gruntilda was going to show up, and she's the reason the Veil tore down!"

"I know, it all sounds weird to me too, but what if at the end of this day, Glitzville goes falling from the sky?"

"You're being ridiculous!" She stomped her foot. "Mister Facilier is nice to me, and he would never trick me into doing something like that! I don't think he had any idea what would've happened in Orchid Bay, as much as I did!"

"How could you not be even a little suspicious of him, Child? Apparently, he let you run around aimlessly for 11 years, but decided to 'adopt' you out of the blue. If I were him, I would've taken you in my home instantly."

"I know that, but…but he told me it was part of my dad's plan! And if it all went well, I would get to meet him, and my mom, too!"

"I wouldn't give 10 whiskers about some _plan_ , because I would be a bit more furious at them for putting me through all that!"

"Nngh…" Wendy bit her lower lip. She looked away. "I don't wanna talk about this. I trust Mr. Facilier…"

"Hey Wendell, hey Carl!" Sonny and Donna skipped over. "(We gave you a name too, Car!) We bought these hotdogs with super-spicy hotsauce!" Sonny held both delicacies.

"I got balloons and a Rawk Hawk mask!" Donna was wearing a mask of a yellow bird man, with big golden hair.

"This town's so happy and awesome, we don't ever wanna leave!"

"And when we see people beat each other up, we'll love it even more!"

"WHAT COULD GO WRONG?" both twins chorused.

"What, indeed." Carla made a sweatdrop. "We still have 40 minutes to kill until we need to go meet Facilier. What do you kids want to do?"

"I know! Let's have some Alan Rickman Rickflakes!" Donna held up a cereal box, depicting the dark-faced actor with a bowl of gray cereal. "Part of a healthy, though yucky breakfast!"

 **Commercial**

Alan Rickman sat on a table beside his self-named cereal. His expression was grim, as was his tone. "Buy my new… Alan Rickman Rickflakes. They will fill your mornings with grain, and morbid delight. …Professor Snape…" There was an eerie pause in his voice, " _commands_ … it…"

 **Glitz Pit**

Dr. Facilier was sitting in the stadium's lobby. Crowds of people were piling in, excited to watch the brawls, there were guards in tuxedos patrolling, and cameramen snapping pictures of fighters who were on break. With all this activity, nobody paid mind to the suspicious witch-doctor who appeared to be grasping his knees in an impatient fashion. A brown-haired woman with black goggles and mechanical pants appeared and sat beside him.

" _There_ you are." The doctor said. "Now, before I go through with this, he said you wanted to run the plan with me real quick."

"That's right." The woman nodded. "Here." She gave him a blank paper.

Facilier tapped his wand to the paper and said, "Aparecium." Words appeared on the paper. Facilier quickly skimmed the instructions. "How'd y'all manage to figure all _this_ out?"

"Inside connections." The woman stood up. "Just sign her up for the contest, and the rest will work itself out."

"Whoa whoa whoa." Facilier stood up and gestured a wait. "Couple things I ain't see… One, how you expect her to win, and two, you honestly see NOTHIN' going wrong with this?"

"I trust his intuition." The woman walked away. "He's never been wrong before."

"…Sigh…" Facilier released a breath through his nose. "This comin' from the girl who got tricked by him on numerous occasions."

 **Negaverse**

"Haaaaaaaahhh!" Sipa's eyes sparkled with purest delight. "I…I never thought… that I would have the honor of standing before one of the Six Demon Saints!" The Satanist bowed before Medusa, who still inhabited Nerehc's body. "Lady Medusa, if you desired a vessel, my body would've been all but yours!"

"It's all right, this one felt more available." Medusa smiled passively. "His head's a little empty right now. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sipa. Any person who follows the dark arts is a good friend to me."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine." Sipa blushed, standing back up. "But I feel I don't deserve it, considering… Well, I've kinda been slumping a lot."

"Slumping, you say?" Medusa cocked a brow.

"Well, I… A while back, my Devil's Wand was stolen from me by this other wizard. He showed me visions of… some things I did with it. For some reason, I was really afraid, because… dooming my soul to eternal damnation… didn't look as great as I thought it would. I…I didn't know what I expected it to look like. All I ever thought about was serving Satan and torching my own soul… I don't understand why I began to feel differently."

"Hmm…" Medusa looked at the body she was possessing. Whatever force was causing everyone to forget Nerehc was affecting his girlfriend, too. Medusa needed to seize the chance. "A Devil's Wand… It's a rare sight for a child to wield such an item. How did a weapon with so dark a core choose you?"

"I got it for my -5th birthday. It was after my grandfather conducted a dark ritual where… he took a small piece of my soul and gave it to a demon called Lucifer. Then, Lucifer gave me a piece of him in return. That's how my magic abilities developed."

"So, you are acquainted with Lucifer." Medusa said with a perceptive tone. "Then it was convenient that we found you. Hm… Old Black Feathers always loved children. He found their souls to be most delicious, especially when consumed with despair. You see, we are actually trying to locate Lucifer. If you share his essence, then perhaps you can help us find him in Posiverse Mexico."

"The Posiverse? Well, I would be happy to serve you, Lady Medusa!" Sipa smiled brightly. "But why do you wish to find him?"

This question brought another one to Medusa's mind. "Sipa… do you know what's going to happen this month?"

"Uh… Something's going to happen?"

 _She doesn't remember that, either. Perhaps because Nerehc told everyone…_ "Never mind. We'll get into the details as soon as we locate Lucy."

"Yaaaaaawn." Ragus made a yawn, but her tone and expression maintained that quiet, still vibrance. "I apologize, Lady Medusa, but I feel weary. I wish to rest and visit my toys in the Dream World."

"You're dismissed, Ragus. Thanatos, carry her."

"Why am I her piggy ride?" the fat god asked as Ragus lay on her back and closed her eyes, still smiling.

"Because you are a pig." Pandora remarked emotionlessly. "That's the end of the sentence."

"Oh, fine." Thanatos picked the child up off the ground and put her over his back. "If I was in my normal form, I could just become a luxury train."

"We'll take Nerehc's DNK ship he used to fly here." Medusa decided. "I don't think his Dark Portal could cross to the Posiverse. Sipa, we'll rely on you for that once we make it to Ocixem."

 **Night Castle**

Nerehc's new penguin friend didn't remember his own name, so Nerehc decided to call him Pennington. Still, he remembered a lot more than Nerehc did; the boy wasn't sure of his own name, nor anything else. He hoped Ragus would have answers for him.

Pennington led him to the castle's grand bedroom, where a girl was asleep on a bed with green curtains. The blanket was a night sky with stars, complimenting for Ragus's dress. "That's her." Nerehc knew on instinct. "Can we wake her up?"

" _Not_ like this. She must sleep in the real world."

Nerehc approached and moved the curtain aside to have a better view of her. Ragus's purple eyes came open, and she sat up at a 90° angle. "Hello, visitors!"

Nerehc jumped back, startled by her sudden waking. "Ragus?"

"Oh, my new toy! You're the one Lady Medusa describes." Ragus kicked off her bed, her bare feet hitting the checkered floor. She approached him with her creepy smile. "Nerehc…"

"Nerehc? Is that my name?"

"That's what Lady Medusa calls you. But I have no idea who you are, 'Nerehc.'"

"You don't know who I am? Do you know anything about me?"

"No, I do not. Which is funny, because I knew plenty about my toys before I decided to make them what they are. After a short time being here, they begin to forget who they are themselves. Like Mr. Penguin." Ragus gestured at the stuffed British bird. "I have no idea who he is. It doesn't matter to me, though. As long as they're soft and snuggly enough to hug to sleep every night!" She hugged herself and swayed happily. "You're especially peculiar, because I forgot you right away. I can only guess something happened to your Positive."

"My Positive? What do you mean by that?"

"Hmm… I don't remember that, either. I lose track of things when I have fun."

Nerehc looked at Pennington, then back to Ragus. "Why do you do this to people, anyway?"

"It happened 12 years ago… Our house got set on fire and burned me to death. Father was so upset that he made a lifeless doll out of my remains. He pleaded the gods to give his baby girl back. Only Lady Medusa listened. She collected my soul and put me back in this unaging body. Then I became a spiritbender. I'm not sad, anymore. I don't feel pain. I thought other people would like this feeling, too. Do you like being happy, Nerehc?" Her head slanted.

"I'm not happy, I'm confused! I don't know who I am, where I come from, what I do…"

"Then… do you need… to know these things?" Ragus approached him slowly. "Nerehc… do you know what being 'confused' means?"

"I…" Nerehc touched his forehead. He remembered nothing about himself… In fact, he wasn't sure what anything was. He never noticed… how soft his head felt. He didn't know what the word 'soft' meant, the word just came up.

"Whoever you were… Nerehc… then forget about… Nerehc…" Ragus stood two inches from him. His mind only focused on her soft voice. His eyes were turning dull. "Living without sadness or conflict… is bliss… The only way to forget it all… is to forget yourself. Let your mind… and body… _gray_ …"

Nerehc's body morphed into a wooden stick puppet that collapsed on the floor. Ragus picked it up by the arms to look at the head's two holes. "Aww… I expected something… fluffier. I guess… he really remembers… nothing. I could always sew a body on him. I wonder what he should be? A monkey? A platypus? Maybe I'll… improvise."

 **Bay cave near Cinnamon Jungle**

"Ugh…" Stewie finally woke up, but the pain from using his Hulk form was still apparent. He noticed the small lake of ocean water that was shaking from the storm outside. They were inside a cave, very damp and dark. He then looked to the back of the cave: Augustus was rubbing a giant crocodile's tummy, Rallo was cleaning his toes, and Maggie was scrubbing his teeth. "We're sex slaves now, aren't we?"

While the other three were performing these chores, Princess Aisling was standing on a platform and smiling at their progress. "Errrrgh! You said you had a plan to get us outta here with this guy!" Augustus yelled impatiently. "Why are we suddenly his servants? !"

"Honestly, humans are so _selfish_." Aisling folded her arms. "This poor animal has endured horrible trauma in the past. Being forced to do things he never wanted to, I could feel all that anguish in his heart! You just made him a part of your crew. If you want to attempt to be a decent captain, you need to grow close with your crew. Mold your hearts and dreams into one. _Understand_ them."

Augustus looked at Stewie, remembering their conversation in the jungle. He remembered snuggling with the three children like a big brother protecting them from nightmares. "My whole crew is a babysitting service." He sighed with exhaust. "So, Kuh…Lumsy." He wasn't sure which way to pronounce his name. "Are you feeling better?"

 _"Tee, heehee!"_ K. Lumsy giggled like a little kid. _"I sto habbyyy! King K. Rool never rubs my tumbly. Or cleans my tootsies. Or-"_

"Yeah 'kay okay okay." Augustus didn't wanna hear it out loud. "What did K. Rool make you do, anyway? You seemed pretty upset about working for them."

 _"I was big giant croc from big giant land. I go down to little people land and make friends. They're so cuuuute. But den dey got scared of me, and be'd mean to me, and dey hurt me, and den, sniff, boo hoo hoo hooooooo!"_

K. Lumsy put hands over his sobbing eyes, and his shaking caused Augustus to lose balance and fall on his back on the giant's belly. "(Honestly, I wanna feel sympathy for this guy, but it's hard to.)" Augustus said to himself.

K. Lumsy sniffled before speaking again. _"Den K. Rool came and said I could join his Krew. I dought he wanted to make friends, but he dust wanted be to be mean. I didn't want to be mean, so he be'd mean to me. Why is everybody so meeeaaan?"_

 _Why do YOU have a particular choice in letters?_ Augustus thought to himself. The captain got on his hands and knees to feel more stable on the croc's belly. "Klumsy, I can tell you're a big softy who doesn't really like violence or hurting people. I said that I wouldn't make you fight, and even though I was in kind of a rush, I don't wanna go back on that. But I need my crew to be at their very best. I need you to be strong, not just to fight for us, but to protect us."

 _"Bud I…I scared! I don't like people being mean to me. I don't wike being mean to people…"_

"Sigh, I don't know what to tell you, Big Guy." Augustus took out his dried lollipop and threw it away. "But here's how I look at it: if people push you around, sometimes you gotta push back. You might live by that moral with 'Sticks and Stones', and something about words, you might be proud of who you are and choose to show restraint… but sooner or later, you need to fight. If it's to defend yourself or to defend your friends, you aren't a bad guy for choosing to fight. Pacifists may act like they're pure of heart, but often times, they get their selves killed for being what they are. You don't have to like fighting, but it doesn't mean you can avoid it."

 _"But…But dou said.."_

"I said that I wouldn't make you fight, and I won't. You have to choose to fight yourself. The best thing I can do for you as captain is let you choose."

 _"Bud I…I afwaid to fight… If I don't fight… will you be mean to be?"_

 _I would hate to see your dialogue written out._ Augustus thought. "No, I'm not going to be mean to you. I might yell orders or get mad at you, but I ain't gonna be cruel like those K. Rool fools. So are you willing to fight to protect your new friends?"

 _"New… fwiends…"_ K. Lumsy sat his head up to face the little captain on his belly. _"I wike… new fwiends…"_

Augustus pulled out a lollipop, unwrapped it, and held it out to K. Lumsy. "New friends get lollipops. You want one?"

The giant reptile stared adorably at the little sweet. Augustus figured a big baby like him would love these things. He tossed the candy, which Klumsy _gomped_ into his mouth.

They heard small splashing sounds, and Stewie was the first to see the robotic fish leaping out of the water. "Guys, we have trouble!" Stewie whipped out a ray gun and began shooting.

"Crud, they musta found us." Augustus jumped off Klumsy and began chucking his Gobstopper at the robots, while Rallo boomed his stereos. "Fairy Brat, now would be a great time to do this plan o' yours!"

Aisling jumped onto K. Lumsy's belly and faced the croc. "I'm a little weak on magic as I am, Mr. Lumsy, so in order for this to work, I need your word that you will protect us with all of your willpower."

 _"By new friends are nice to be… K. Lumsy won't let meanies hurt them…"_

"Wonderful." Aisling reached behind her and grabbed a book that was stuck to her back, and otherwise hidden by her long white hair. Aisling sat on the giant's belly and read a passage from _Kells' Book of Spells_. _"The young cub hides… in his cave from the dark… When the sun comes, the li…on… roars…"_ Aisling shone with an energy that flowed into K. Lumsy. The giant felt power coursing through his veins. _"Though the Earth's rage doth burn, all the land, green, and bark… The waves can't… push… yon… is…land's… shore…"_

Outside, the Silver Bullet was standing on the cliff of the bay, withstanding the storm. _"Captain."_ She spoke to her communicator. _"My Aqua Drones found them inside a secret cave, just around the northern point."_

 _"Excellent work, me wee Penny. By the time this storm clears, we'll be the first crew ter nab them!"_

 _"If we could get the sub ready, I'll be happy to catch them myself. They don't seem to have any… Wait."_ She looked at the screen on her wristwatch, taken from one of the Aqua Drones. _"It looks like they're doing something. What kind of…"_

Silver Bullet looked at the side of the bay where they were hidden. Suddenly, something burst out of the sea and began speeding across the surface like a speedboat, against the storms. K. Lumsy had gained a sudden boost in strength, and his arms moved like propellers as he swam. The four Marzipans held tight to his back, while Aisling squatted on the back of his head and faced forward with an excited smile. Her long white hair blew like a cape behind her. "Against the raging sea and unforgiving winds, find your true strength, noble beast!" the fairy declared.

"I have to admit, this is pretty awesome!" Augustus pushed up on all fours for a better view of the stormy horizon. The lightning glinted off his sunglasses. "You really think we can make it like this?"

"It will not be far, now!" Aisling yelled confidently. "Soon, we will reach the home of the Sugar Fairies! The Sugar Fairy Kingdom, where the Sugar Fairy Princess dwells! The Sugar Deserts!"

Through a hole in the clouds above, their movements were seen by an Aeralfos. This Aeralfos was perched on one of many giant, metal blimps in the sky. The winged monster flew into the captain's quarters. "Your Highness, the Marzipan Pirates have begun to move. Should we signal Captain Mandy?"

"No." The woman said. She was clad in black armor, had long and messy black hair, and wore a nightmarish smirk. "I like my prey when it's good and warm. We'll chase them ourselves. And wherever they plan to hide, we'll burn it to the ground."

 _Captain of the Boogey Pirates' Flame Division_

 _Mandy's spiritual sister_

 _"The Blue Demolisher"_

 _AZULA_

 **Glitzville**

After the hour had passed, Wendy, Carla, and the Ice Climbers were on their way to the Glitz Pit. They merged with the crowds coming and going, and Jessie, James, and Meowth kept their sights on the purple-haired "boy" who was with the winged cat, clad in fashionable disguises.

 _"Today's battles in the Glitz Pit are brought to you by Fegan Floop, the host of popular children's show, Floop's Fooglies!"_ There was a screen that depicted a colorful, dizzying dimension where creatures of odd appearances were dancing on flying balls. The camera zoomed up to the show's host, a man with standing brown hair, wearing a patterned shirt under a red robe. The edges of the robe were yellow with red leaf designs. _"Saturday mornings on Cartoon Network Real, from 9am to 12pm!"_

"Mister Facilier!" Wendy spotted the tall doctor in the hat and ran over. Facilier turned and greeted the girl happily.

"Wendell! There's my gir- uh, boy! I'm glad you could make it, 'cause have I got a surprise for you!"

"Really? What is it?" Wendy was excited.

"Well, you know I told y'all we would be watching the fights to study the magic creatures, right?"

"Uh…" Wendy glanced at Carla briefly, "Yeah?"

"Well, I mighta left out a _little bitty_ detail." Facilier grinned, as though eager to deliver this news. "You will not only study them, but you will do so up close and personal. You see-"

"Is DIS the boy named Wendell Berry?" A security guard marched up and asked.

"Yes, Sir, this is the Wendell Berry I mentioned."

"Great. Then follow me, Kid." The guard gestured back with his thumb. "Once you're set up in da locker room, we'll getchor first match set up."

"SAY WHAT? !" Wendy panicked. ("Beg your pardon? !" followed Carla.)

"You're a professional fighter now!" Facilier cheered. "Congratulations!"

 _"We'll bet everything on the other guy!"_ the twins chorused.

 **A dirty building in Miracle City**

In a hotel that was as run-down as this, you would be surprised even a single mirror was still in one piece. This very mirror was used as the portal for Sipa, Medusa, and her cohorts to climb into the Posiverse. Thanatos had trouble squeezing his fat body through, then he reached in to grab the still-slumbering Ragus.

"It took forever to find an active mirror in Disaster City." Sipa moaned. "Which is ironically one of the most beautiful cities in the Negaverse. Are you sure the gods wouldn't notice us like this?"

"There's a reason this city is called 'God's Blind Spot.'" Medusa remarked. "There's too much negative energy here. Alright, Sipa… help us locate Lucifer."

Sipa held her Devil's Wand with both hands and took a breath. "Point Me Lucifer." Instantly, the wand thrusted to her right.

The group left the building and followed the wand's direction out of the city. The sky was red as the burning sun set. They walked for miles across the desert sand, sweating under the heat. Thanatos tugged on Eigaoh's clothes, which felt stuck to his skin. "I bet now you expect me to make some 'spatula' joke."

"Yes, but since you're inhabiting the Negative, I expect you to actually make it _good_." Pandora remarked. "Medusa, are you really sure about trusting this little twerp?"

"She has a Devil's Wand." Medusa reminded. "It was crafted by demons and only listens to wizards who made connections with demons. I know only one other person who possesses one and is still alive. But he probably won't be willing to help us. Sipa, however, she's very cooperative. Isn't she?"

"I sure am, Lady Medusa!" Sipa turned to them with a big smile. After facing forward, she frowned, feeling more nervous as they drew closer.

After the sun went down, they went from hot to chilly. The clothes soaked from sweat didn't contribute to this. The gods didn't like being human at all. Eventually, the Devil's Wand led them to a cave inside a huge rock that looked like a small mountain. It was dark, but Sipa didn't bother lighting it with her magic. Instead, the girl got to her knees, placed the wand horizontally on the ground before her, and folded her hands. "O Angel of the Black Wing, the one banished by God… I beseech thee, allow us to speak to you."

The cave turned so black, even the entrance was invisible. A pair of red eyes appeared on a black mass, whose body was only implied by purple streaks. Lucifer spoke in a dark voice. _"You better not be here to make fun of me, Medusa."_

* * *

 **Someone's sensitive. :P So if anyone hasn't heard the news, Alan Rickman died last week. That little bit was a tribute to him (you'll notice cameos of other late actors in this story). I was fond of him in _Harry Potter_. He died of cancer like my dad did, so I guess I kind of relate… Anyway, you remember Azula from _Avatar: Last Airbender_ ; who isn't surprised she would make friends with Mandy? Glitzville is from _Paper Mario TTYD_ , and the main story will have a lot of places from that game. Next time, the Glitz Pit.**


	9. The Sky Sisters

**I kinda keep forgetting to say which Main Story chapters these Side Stories go by. Oh well, it doesn't matter unless you're just now reading this series. In which case, I advise new readers to read these on deviantART, because all the chapters are posted in the exact order. This one's by Chapter 14. :P**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 9: The Sky Sisters_**

 **Lucifer's cave**

"You're one for pleasant greetings, Lucy." Medusa remarked. "Still feeling sour about You-Know-Who?"

 _"I was not pleased to be cast into your shadow, Medusa."_ The black mass that was Lucifer spoke with malice. _"When Malladus, that wretched usurper, scolded me for my failure… I felt utter disrespect. I felt less than demon. I wanted to crush him. I wanted to crush Uncle Malladus in my own two hands. Why did he find love and **I** could not? !"_

Lucifer began panting. The three gods could feel the emotion in his voice. _"I can't get over it. I still want her. I still love her. I still love… ELLEN WICKENS! I am a disgrace to my kind to love a mortal! But I cannot abandon these feelings. I cannot stomach mortals who feel love for other mortals. I want a mortal to love_ me _! If I were loved like Malladus was loved… I could become more fierce."_

Sipa was still bowing on the floor. Medusa surmised that, being in the presence of such a great demon, she was in no position to speak. She would be on the floor like the lowly human she is, and let the two Demon Saints speak. Medusa walked closer to the evil spirit. "But Lucy, you _did_ crush Malladus. If it wasn't for your rambling about Ellen, Malladus never would've chosen to fall in love with a mortal. Malladus doomed himself when he transferred his own life force to his descendants. It is because of you the Uno Family exists!"

 _"That doesn't please me! It is only Malladus, scattered into tiny pieces. But I do not care for him. He is not the one…"_

"We know that. We know who the one is. Because we want him too, Lucy."

Lucifer looked at the possessed boy with inquiry and hatred. Medusa smirked and stepped closer. "We need the Six Demon Saints to rescue him from the Sanzu River. He's one of the Thirteen Darknesses. You know who I'm talking about, don't you? The Devil Reincarnate himself. Ganondorf Dragmire!"

There was a reaction in his eyes. _"Ganondorf… I've spent many a year with that man's crotch on my back. The only reason I served him was because I felt my father's presence inside him. I thought, if I served him, I would get to see my father, Lord Satan, again. And the only reason I wanted to see him… was so I could DESTROY him! I, Lucifer, the King of Black Magic, would be Emperor of Hell."_

"But Grim Reaper is the king now." Pandora mentioned. "Why don't you crush him?"

 _"Because… he is stronger than me. He destroys my kind… Hollows and Arrancar. Even now, I struggle to hide from the Spirit Kids Next Door. The only one who could destroy him… is Satan. Yes, I do wish to rescue Ganondorf. But I wish to destroy him after. I cannot do that in this state… I need to appear stronger before him. I want love… I want to be… MARRIED."_

The statement took Medusa by surprise. She looked at the girl who was still bowing. "Married? Then… Sipa will do."

Sipa gasped, her head flying back up as her eyes showed terrific shock. "L-Lady Medusa…"

"Yes, she is a perfect match. And a very devout Satanist. You would _love_ to be wed to one of the Royal Demon Saints. You even have part of each other's soul."

 _"Huuur, yes… She does…"_ Sipa felt a chill in her spine when Lucifer touched a single, sharp finger to her gently. _"A soul… so dismantled and poisoned… Perhaps it is what I needed… all along… Feelings of hatred… and LOVE…"_

"W-Well, it… does sound wonderful." Sipa stuttered, forcing a smile. "But my love is for Satan! I couldn't betray…"

"The only way you will be able to see Satan…" Sipa looked up at Medusa, "would be to do what he says. Besides, a kind of two-sided love like this is what our Bad Lord would want."

 _"Yes… I cannot possess a human vessel, unless we are joined in unholy matrimony. Allow yourself to be mine… Give your love to me, Sipa… and we will both get to see Lord Satan again. Isn't this… what you wanted?"_

Sipa felt the darkness around her grow. She was swallowed in despair… and didn't know why. _I was raised to love… no one but Lord Satan. I burned my soul and many others… all for his sake. I loved nobody else. So why… do I feel this way? Why am I so afraid to speak his name? Why am I afraid… to be near these people? These… demons?_

"Sipa…" A hand touched her shoulder. Sipa looked up into the eyes of that boy. Those snake green eyes… of the boy whom Medusa was possessing. "Marry Lucifer for us… For everything that is the Demon Realm… you _will_ want to do this."

Maybe these feelings were what Sipa was seeking. Her mind a haze, fear shrouding her heart… these were what she gained from serving Satan. This was the path she wanted. She should follow it… to the end. "Yes. I do…" She looked up at the black demon. "I will marry you, Lucifer."

"I get to design the bridal dress!" Thanatos raised his hand eagerly. "I don't know if you know, but I make _beautiful_ bridal dresses."

"The wedding shall take place tomorrow at negative noon." Medusa said. "And as for a location…" She looked at Nerehc's right hand. "I believe this amnesia epidemic can work to our advantage."

 **Glitzville; Glitz Pit**

"So here's how it's gonna go down." The security guard said to Wendy in a filthy locker room. "Youse gonna wait for dem to call you, den you gonna go out in da ring, and beat 'em up. Youse got that?"

"NO we don't got it!" Carla shouted insistently. "We never signed up for this thing!"

"Looks, I don't makes da rules. I don't got control over who signs up whom. But youse name gots put on da paper, so someone has ta fight. It's no sweats, 'cause you can use whatever methods ya like. Well, you're probably gettin' tired of my typical tough guy talk, though I should let you know my vocabulary is above average. Before I goes, Mr. Fancy-Hat gives me this card for you." He handed Wendy a folded paper. "Catches ya later, Pally." The guard left.

Wendy unfolded the paper to find a list. "'Good offensive spells: Reducto (explosions)… Stupefy (stuns)… Titillandoooo'…" Wendy moaned unconventionally and wept. "Why did Mister Facilier sign me up for this?"

"Now do you see what I mean?" the kitten asked. "This man is beyond trustful! Entering you in a fighting contest behind your back. You could barely stand your ground against Juniper Lee!"

"I know! But…" Wendy took out her Lamia Scale wand. "I did learn a few new tricks. Maybe he's trying to teach me more. But I dunno what any of these people are like!" Wendy slouched on her knees in a frightful manner. "Oh, I'm going to get clobbered! !"

"You don't have to fight. Just stay in this room and you'll forfeit."

Wendy was on the verge of doing that… but then she remembered June. She remembered locking fists with the strong opponent. She remembered combining her airbending, magic, and her strength. "…I won't."

"There's no shame behind that, Child." Carla said agreeably. "You didn't sign up for this, so you should choose-"

"No. I meant I won't forfeit."

"You… What?" The kitten was taken aback.

Wendy grasped the rose quartz wand and looked proudly. "I want to try. Mr. Facilier signed me up for this… and I trust him."

 **The arena**

The arena's interior was a mix of beige and orange, and the outer walls were designed in a brick style. Hundreds were gathered around the rectangular stage. There were spotlights shining on it and three huge televisions around the chamber. Dr. Facilier and the Ice Climbers had a great view from the top seats, and Romeo chose to see the fights up close. Jessie, James, and Meowth sat suspiciously close to the side doors where the fighters would enter.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen!"_ A hatch opened up on the stage's center. _"The host of today's events! Bringing you this top-quality family entertainment, famous star of children's television show, Floop's Fooglies… Fegaaaan FLOOP!"_

The man with standing brown hair, wearing a shiny leather red robe over a patterned shirt, emerged from the stage on a floating pink ball with a smiley face. He had a frantic expression, flailing his arms as his feet tried to stay balanced on the ball. It floated halfway up the chamber before he finally took the plummet, smashing facefirst against the stadium floor. His body flattened as he bounced back on his feet. He puffed himself up by kissing his thumb and blowing air back into himself. "Boy, that was a Floop!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The stadium roared with laughter, except from the more mature audience members.

"Thank you, thank you all for coming!" Floop began energetically. "So wonderful to have so many people in my WONDERFUL arena! Oh, what a wonderful show we have today, we've got so many competitors, I think you'll LOVE 'em! And I know they're so EXCITED to battle, so is EVERYONE READY?"

"YEEEEAAAAAH!"

"Our contestants will score big money for their performance in the contest. The farther they get, the wealthier they will be. And we have a special prize for the person to win the top place: an all expense paid trip to MY domain, where ALL the magic happens, Foogly Palace! Now, let's introduce our first combatants!

"ENTERING from the red door!" Floop pointed with gusto. "He packs a wallop, he IS a wallop, he's Wally the Wallmaster!" The red door opened, and a giant brown hand with pointy fingers walked in on said fingers. "AGAINST the King of Arm-Wrestling, he takes ambidextrous to a whole new level, it's Lefty 'The Righty' Left-Right!" The person entering the blue door was a yellow-skinned man, bald with a gray mustache, and wearing a black tank-top over his muscles. "LET'S get READY to RUMBLLLLE!" Floop whipped out a mechanical rod that extracted a propeller, then hovered away.

The Wallmaster turned green and flew at the arm-wrestler, who used both his left and right hands to push back. The hand monster's defense lowered, so Lefty flipped it on its back, then crushed the Wallmaster under his left elbow. Wally managed to flick Lefty off before leaping to the ceiling. Lefty couldn't see him with the spotlights shining in his eyes, but he looked at the hand-shaped shadow on the floor. When it grew bigger, Lefty dodged Wally's drop attack. He grabbed the hand monster and wrestled with him.

In their locker room, Wendy and Carla watched the fight display on their own TV screen. "Would Mr. Facilier want me to take notes now?" the girl asked.

"Yes, the sight before my eyes is very educative." the kitten said with sarcasm.

"So, Wallmasters can harden their skin…" Wendy scribbled on a notepad, her eyes directing at the screen every few seconds. "And they specialize in ceiling drops… Wow, I am learning a lot!"

A guard barged in. "Hey, Wendells. Youse is up next up, Ponytail. Looks likes Lefty's gonna be your square."

"Oh, boy. Ahem, wish me luck, Carla." she said in her guy voice.

Lefty "The Righty" succeeded in defeating the right-handed hand monster. Wally left the arena mopingly while Lefty was cheering. "That was a beautiful display of hands-to-hand combat!" Floop said spiritedly. "But let's hope Lefty still has arm power to spare! Because his next match is up against…" Floop looked at his list. His expression turned to confusion. "Someone a little last-minute… he's apparently a young wizard, and I do not recall anyone with his name ever existing anywhere… WENDELL BERRY!"

Murmurs of confusion rang throughout the stadium when the purple-haired, ponytailed boy ran in from the red door. Facilier and the twins were the only ones cheering, and the Team Rocket trio grinned deviously. "It's that guy…" Romeo said quietly. "He was a fighter all along?"

Wendy eagerly jogged up the two steps leading onto the ring- "Ahhh!" her foot hit the final step as she fell facefirst on the ring.

 _"Hahahahahahahahaha!"_ The audience burst into laughter. Facilier and the twins winced at the embarrassing act.

Wendy scrambled to her feet, clutching her wand and fixing her scarf. She looked around blushingly at the laughing fans. "Uh… What a Floop!" She shrugged with a grin.

 _"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"_ The audience, including Facilier's team, laughed insanely, and Floop himself was holding his chest, almost falling off of his floating platform. With the tension out of the air, Wendy faced her opponent. Lefty Left-Right held a Hulk glove in his left hand, a Thing glove in his right, and crushed them both as he growled at the child.

"Heheh…" Wendy flushed and scratched the back of her head. She spoke with her guy voice, "I know I made a show there, but I'm not necessarily here to fight. I only came here to study the fighters. So, with that said, could you go a bit easy on me?"

The baldheaded arm-wrestler stood more poised and held out his right hand. Wendy grinned, happily approaching him to shake his hand. Immediately, The Righty squeezed her extended hand and- "UH! UH! AH!" slammed Wendell back and forth on the floor. He then tossed the purple-haired to the other side of the ring.

Wendy got up on all fours and faced Lefty, who brushed both hands. Wendy took breaths to relieve the slight pain. _What am I thinking… I'm doing this fight for you too, June. As long as you're trapped in that city… I'll do my best for both of us._

Lefty approached her slowly, so Wendy rolled forward and thrusted her hands at him, pushing The Righty back with a gust of air. The wrestler fell out of the ring, and the audience shouted "OHHH! !"

"Uhhh… I'm sorry!" Wendy flushed and scratched her head again. "I was told I can use any methods I liked."

"Oh no, you can!" Floop nodded, smiling at the performance. "It's just, getting knocked out of the ring isn't a loss, you have to knock your opponent out."

"Kn-Knock him out?" Lefty climbed back into the ring, snarling at the airbender before dashing forth. Wendell made a terrific weightless jump over the wrestler, and when Lefty whipped around, his left arm was extended. On instinct, Wendy threw her own left hand into it, but the wrestler used little strength in flipping her over and sliding her away. Wendell got on her fours, grabbing her wand and casting "Arms!" on her right arm. She jumped to her feet and glared fearlessly at the wrestler with that arm held up. Lefty accepted her challenge and grabbed it, and was surprised to see they were pushing with equal strength.

Wendy leaped, still clutching his hand, pulling it up with her as she flew over and caused him to punch himself in the face. Lefty tried to push himself up, but Wendy brought a burst of wind down on him and smashed him against the floor again. She kept her guard raised, expecting Lefty to get up, but he didn't. "The winner is WENDELL BERRY!" Floop announced.

"YEEEAAAAH!" Team Facilier cheered.

"Ah ha ha… I just took a shot." Wendell shrugged, making a sweatdrop.

"Our young adolescent has grabbed our attention, but will he keep it? His next battle, an Irken invader who conquered five planets in the Florae Galaxy, he's lean, he's mean, Invader Gagules!" A teenage Irken wearing magenta armor, accompanied by four small SIR Units flying with rockets, entered the arena.

"I wish us a good match!" Wendy told him assuredly.

"You are now Number 57 on my 'Kill' list." Gagules stated.

The bell dinged, and Gagules' first act was to form a bubble barrier around himself, using the SIRbots as generators. "Stupefy!" Wendy shot stun spells at the bubble, but it remained sturdy as the Irken pulled out a gun. "Protego!" Wendy whipped up a pink shield, which withstood against the electrical net the gun fired. "I thought a Lamia Scale could break defenses. What if I hit the robots…"

Wendell dropped her own shield and ran right around the Irken. As his body turned to her direction, the four SIRbots floated in a diagonal fashion around his body, so that Wendy could not directly face one. Wendy skidded to stop, then ran the opposite way, and she merely repeated this maneuver to try and get in front of a robot. However, she had to keep dodging his net, and Gagules was too close to the edge for Wendy to run fully around him.

When Wendy hesitated, Gagules shot the net, and Wendy gasped, barely dodging backward as she nearly lost balance on her heels. As she caught her breath, Wendy glanced up at the overhead spotlights. One of them was above Gagules, so Wendy aimed her wand and cast, "Spinneroo!" The screws of the spotlight detached as it fell on Gagules' bubble, blinding him with the flash of electricity. Wendy got to one diagonal side of him and yelled, "Reducto!" to shoot a spell and destroy one of the SIRbots. The barrier disabled, so Gagules positioned his robots in a triangle fashion as they tried to shoot the girl. Wendy dodged them and- "Titillando!" blasted the Tickle Spell.

"HAHAHA, HAH HAHA, HAHAHAHA!" The ex-invader fell on the floor cackling, drawing baffled looks from his robots. Wendy blew the robots away with her bending and knocked the Irken out with Stupefy.

"THE WINNER IS Wendell!" Floop announced; he was wearing a hat that had a miniature amusement park with a merry-go-round, roller coaster, and the like. "I see this boy has more under his scarf than we saw at first! For these next matches, we're going to do some SLIGHT redecorating at the request of some of our next combatants. Entering from the blue door, they put rubber and fire to the road, give it up for the Rolly Bowlies!" The ones to enter were three Wheelies (Nightmares who were red-armored tires with exhaust pipes) and a GUN Rhino Metal, which was a short rectangular tank.

After Floop pulled a switch, the edges of the ring curved up into ramps, which led up narrow tracks that looped directly overhead. When the bell _dinged_ , the Wheelies began to zoom up and around these loops, while the Rhino Metal rammed Wendy and knocked her down. Wendy cast a Protego to protect herself when it tried to ram again, and the shield also blocked the bullets the Wheelies were shooting from above. "Reducto!" Wendy's blasting spell had no effect on the Rhino, so she decided to run and avoid it.

Tired of the Wheelies' bullets, Wendy boosted to run up the loops herself, but the Wheelies managed to knock her off with their countered momentum. Wendy dodged the Rhino and recomposed, boosting up the loops again and performing a quick spin-kick on each Wheelie to take them out. Wendy took firm land on the floor and projected a shield before quickly skimming her cheat sheet. One of the spells was used to summon Tetramites, and though she didn't know what those were, she decided to try it. "Tetrortia!" A swarm of ravenous little bugs came out of her wand and piled up on the Rhino, munching the metal tank until it was nothing. When the Tetramites turned their attention on Wendy, she quickly shot the counter-charm, "Tetranesca!" making all Tetramites poof into smoke.

"Up next, the masters of bounce, with possible relations to slinkies and rubber balls, the Boinkers make their appearance!" The loops around the arena retracted, and springs appeared around the ring's edges, as well as midair. The enemies to appear were two Burts (small round, yellow creatures with red noses and blue shorts), three Sproing-Oings (neon-colored spring creatures with eyes), and two Spoinks (gray pig Pokémon with spring tails and pink orbs on their heads).

The Burts were bouncing around the side springs, the Sproing-Oings took the aerial springs, and the Spoinks chose to attack Wendy with Psybeams. Wendy whirled air around her right hand and cast "Repiti!" to keep a constant whirlwind going. She swung her Cyclone Fist to knock both Spoinks unconscious. She tried to shoot Stun Spells at the Burts, but the bouncing boys proved too evasive. Wendy decided to hop on the springs and bounce in the opposite direction they were going. When a Burt was mindlessly approaching her, Wendy thrusted a foot down when it was underneath, knocking the Burt out with a stomp. She did the same to the other Burt.

With that, Wendy bounced up to the midair springs and tried to chase the Sproing-Oings. She had to maneuver her momentum so she could land against certain springs, and when she would fly to a Sproing-Oing, she had to react quick and throw a kick. The tedious objective and loud springy sounds rang in her ears for almost three minutes before she finally knocked them all out.

"Hoo, that one dragged on a little!" Floop spoke in his spritely manner; he was sitting on his own big bouncy ball. "But I think this junior wizard needs more of a challenge. Let's bring in our next contestant, a never-before-seen creature who was discovered deep beneath the surface of Planet Avalar. His speech is limited, but please give a round of applause for the beast we have dubbed as 'Jasper'!" Two guards were escorting a huge, orange creature with big whiter orange hair. It crawled on all fours like a gorilla, had a very messy and distorted appearance, and a broken jasper gem for a nose.

The guards carefully released and backed away from Jasper, and a cage was set up around the ring. The Jasper cocked a brow at the purple-haired girl, who backed up in fear as it crawled over. Wendy closed her eyes when Jasper chose to sniff her, examining her slim body. Without warning, the creature brushed his tongue up against her face. "EWWW!" Wendy frantically shook the spit off. "I'm not a tasty treat, so can you please not do that!"

Jasper's eyes widened at the sight of her hair. When he licked the front of the purple hair, the dye came off and revealed the blueness underneath. "BLUE!" Wendy shot her eyes open at this shout. Jasper grabbed Wendy's ponytail and held her up higher, grinning with pure madness. "Meeee likes… BLUE! Meeeee wants it!"

"AAAAHHH! No no no no!" Wendy flailed her arms and legs, but her premature thrashings didn't harm the orange Neanderthal. "I'm not interested in a relationship, let me go, let me go, let me gooooo!"

"Me likes blue! Jasper wants Blue and Jasper together!" The creature took Wendy's right arm and began to dance, forcing her to twirl around.

"AAAAAAHHHH! Reducto!" Wendy whipped up her wand and destroyed the monster with an explosion, blowing herself away with the force. When the smoke cleared, she saw all that remained of the monster was its cracked gem nose. She was horrified at the sight.

"WOW, what a show-stopping performance!" Floop beamed as the cage opened. "Let's give our rising champion a break, eh? He'll need to wash up after that biz! We'll give everyone 10 minutes to use the restroom or fill up on snacks. When we return, we'll have our Golden Champ, Rawk Hawk, vs. the kids who know how to shine, the Bulb Boxers!"

As soon as Wendy returned to her locker room, she collapsed on the dirty mattress. "My word, I couldn't believe the nerve of that monster!" Carla yelled as she climbed onto Wendy's chest. "That must've been traumatizing. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But Carla… I just _killed_ that thing."

"Better it than you, I would think."

"Carla, I KILLED something! And it was a never-before-seen creature! What if it was kidnapped from its family—what if I made the population go extinct! I feel so awful about it!" Wendy pulled off her contacts and covered her tearing eyes with her hands. "I was just trying to study and practice my fighting, I didn't wanna… sniff, sniff!"

"Heys, buddies." The security guard came in. "Floop says if you wants the washroom, it's yours's."

"I don't wanna fight, anymore." Wendy rolled on her side and wept. "I just killed a mindless, innocent creature, sniff sniff."

"Oh noes, that thing goes 'poof' all da time. It always comes right backs, it does."

"Sniff…" Wendy rolled over to face him, "It comes back?"

"Yeah, it comes outta da pretty rock on its nose. Da boss says it's somethin' to do with solid photon particles. It'll be locked up in its cage if ya's wants to see it again. Anyways, later pallies." He left.

Wendy sat up on the bed, feeling a huge weight lift off her heart. "So it isn't dead… I'm so relieved."

"That's certainly worth noting down." Carla wrote on the notepad. "I took the liberty of writing about the creatures you battled. You may want to review them at some point."

"I know…"

"So, are you going to drop out now? Are you tired?"

"…No. I'll keep fighting." She stared at her wand. "I just have to be more careful which spells I use."

 **Floop's office**

Floop happily bounced into his office on the sit-n-bounce ball before tossing it into a corner amongst other toys. He fell back onto his chair that rolled over to his desk. "Dat-do-doooo, dop-dop-do-dooooo…" He hummed to himself while checking his computer. He reviewed the screenshots taken during the fights from different angles, namely those featuring the new boy, Wendell. He smiled, showing interest in this boy's skills. "…Hmmm." He noticed a screenshot when Wendell was flailing his arms in Jasper's grasp. The front of his hair was blue instead of purple. "…I wonder…" The show host looked up the World Government database.

 **DNK Moonbase**

The DNK has been leaderless for almost a year, but given their uncaring natures, it didn't feel very different from how things normally were. Annaira, Atnort, Beewv, and Avakam had no idea why they were here on Moonbase. Ininap and Sicnarf remembered bringing them here, but had no idea why they would ever want to, given their actions in the past. "S-Sicnarf!" Ininap stuttered, pointing at the balcony window. "Th-There's a ship coming!"

"What?" Indeed, a S.U.B.L.O.O.C. was flying full speed at the glass wall. All of the operatives ducked out of the way before it smashed through, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.

The three to step off the vehicle were Medusa, Thanatos, and Pandora in their human vessels. "Since this is the Negaverse, we land ships through the window, right?" the Goddess of Darkness inquired rhetorically.

"Isn't that Eirik's mom?" Sicnarf asked. "What're they doing here? And who's that boy?"

"You don't need to know the story behind this child." Medusa said. "Just that he is the vessel I specially chose for my operations. Destructively Nefarious Kids, I am the Goddess of Darkness, Medusa!"

"Medusa?" Atnort questioned. "Is that s'posed to be the Positive Asudem?"

"Yes, and NO! Asudem was only a myth, but I'm the genuine creator of Darkness. My associates and I need these human bodies to hide from the gods. Not that the gods often look here, I suppose. Now, you must be wondering why I decided to show myself in this weathered old treehouse. The answer is simple: I am taking over the DNK as Supreme Leader!"

"SAYS WHO? !" Beewv shouted. "If you're a goddess, you must be WAY under -13!"

"Actually, even though I'm my sister's 'Negative', I still go by Positive numbers, which means I am far over -13." Medusa smirked. "And even if I wasn't, this body is still within age requirements. Besides, it's not like your organization has any _real_ order. Ask yourselves this… what outstanding things has the DNK accomplished in the past years?"

The base fell silent for a moment, thinking. "Um…" Ininap stuttered, "Ah-I seem to recall, we made friends with… the Nimbi DNK."

"And we… beat up those DNKG." Yddam remembered.

"Whoever said you were friends with anyone? And who was it that ultimately destroyed DNKG's leader?" Medusa asked.

They fell silent again. True, no one in their leaderless group officially made a friendship pact with any other DNK, and they had no idea how DNKG leader, Aluben ended up destroying herself. "Their leader destroyed herself of her own accord." Medusa finally stated. "And in time, the same will happen to the lot of you. Because this realm is and always has been a world of darkness! The Negatars were the embodiments of this dimension's very darkness! That's why the gods look away from this world, and why I, the Goddess of Darkness, choose to walk among you. Destructively Nefarious Kids… help me locate the Thirteen Darknesses. With them, we will establish dominion over the universes, and shun the gods in the way that they have shunned us!"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Hcaz spoke up. "What's this about Thirteen Darknesses?"

"Oh, right, they don't remember that, either." Medusa said to herself. "All will be revealed in good time, my friends. I wish for you to elect me your leader. If you do, I have a marvelous proposal: I have drawn up, and will sign the official Demon-Negative Alliance Treaty!" Medusa whipped out a contract with dark symbols.

"Demon-Negative pardon me? ?" Sicnarf questioned.

"The demons are the 'Negatives' of the spirits, therefore it is in our best interests to sign a pact with them. Their powers combined with ours will make us formidable."

"B-B-But why w-w-would the demons c-c-cooperate with us?" Ininap shuddered at the idea.

"This is all ridiculous!" Sicnarf shouted. "You expect even a leaderless organization like us to follow the ideals of a dark spirit like you?"

"Don't you understand anything?" Medusa spoke. "The one to destroy DNKG leader Aluben was the overabundance of darkness that consumed her. It was ME! The one who manipulated those two brats," she indicated Ininap and Sicnarf, "into bringing the former DNKG operatives here, regardless of their misdeeds, was my dark essence manipulating them! I am the Supreme Leader you were always missing, but was always here, and I am the one who will make your Negative kind rise! And besides, I am not the only one who favors the Demon-Negative Alliance. Sipa, Lucifer, come out."

The young Satanist that many of them knew and feared stepped out of the ship with a forced smile. The operatives raised their weapons when a vicious wolf with red eyes followed her. _"Don't you irksome worms point those weapons at me. I am Lucifer of the Six Demon Saints. I possessed this wolf I found in the desert, but I am not to be underestimated. And this child has agreed to become my bride."_

"As part of the Demon-Negative Alliance, a marriage between a Negative and a demon will be established." Medusa explained. "And Lucifer, as a Demon Saint, can establish the alliance by signing the treaty. That's only if I become your leader. However, Lucy plans to marry Sipa, anyway. If the Negatives and demons are not aligned, he will have every position and power to destroy you if he pleases. Because once Sipa is his bride, their powers will become one! Now, wouldn't you want someone like that on your side?"

"Y-You're… blackmailing us…" Inap stuttered.

"Goddess of Darkness." Medusa shrugged. "I like everything black. Still, let's assume that I keep Lucy under control… the benefits to my leadership weigh heavily in your favor. It's a very easy decision to make, I would say."

The operatives were all looking at each other. The DNKG kids didn't seem to care what happened to this organization they didn't like. But Sicnarf, suspecting Medusa to play unfairly, made the decision for them. "We'll let you be our leader… for now."

"That's a smart decision. We will have this place clean and have the wedding here by tomorrow at negative noon. Or would that be midnight?" Medusa thought aloud. "Sigh, I never understood the differences between time in these worlds."

 **Glitz Pit**

"OOOOH." The audience winced after the Rawk Hawk smashed a Machoke's head against the arena floor. Since the Machamp was knocked out beforehand, all that remained was the Machop. The smaller fighter fainted on his back and held up a white flag.

"THAT'S RIGHT, baby! HAWKSTER is the KING!" Rawk Hawk roared to the screaming fans. He was a golden Mobian hawk, with big blonde hair, wearing orange shorts, yellow shoes, and yellow wristbands. "The Hawk doesn't care who you are or WHERE you're from, 'cause if you ain't expecting to get Rawked, then STAY out of my arena! YOU GOT THAT, Four-Arms? !" He stomped on the Machamp's chest.

"Machamp, Machamp!" it said frightfully. ("I got it! Please don't hurt me!")

"WAS THAT A THREAT? !" Rawk Hawk picked him up, whirled around like a tornado, and sent the Machamp flying. He broke through the stadium's wall and shrunk into the sky. _Twinkle._

"When we get back, get ready for a 10-minute lecture on AERO DYNAMICS!" The Hawk Rawked.

"That Rawk Hawk has quite the large head on his shoulders." Carla remarked, watching the show on their locker room TV. "Perhaps if he could afford a decent haircut, his head wouldn't feel as full…"

"I know, but at least he feels confident." Wendy said, washing her face in the (filthy) sink. "I kind of wish I were more like that."

"Hey dere, Wendells." The security guard came back. "Afters Rawk's next match, youse is gonna be fighting again in the next couple of thousand milliseconds."

"Yuh-oh! Now's my last chance to use the little multi-gender's room." Wendy jogged into the small one-toilet restroom.

"I'm going to use the lobby restroom." Carla called to her as the guard left. "Make sure to put your contacts back on if I don't return on time."

 _"Okay, I will!"_

Carla left the locker room and carefully trekked the dim-lit hallway, passing a security guard with short blue hair. When she passed, that guard stopped and looked at her with a twinkle in his shaded eye. _"MMMM-mmmm!"_ Carla was instantly stuffed into a bag as she squirmed helplessly.

"Who's NEXT to feel the Rawk? !" The Mobian bird hacked spit as he shouted. "Huh? YOU? !" He glared at his next opponent. "I was set to beat up a little boy, but I guess a puny girl would make a good warm-up. When I get done Rawkin' you, you gonna wish you were at your daddy's gettin'-"

A gust of black wind struck the Hawk harder than a wrecking ball.

After Wendy came out of the restroom, she put her contact lens back to make her red eyes into brown. She noticed her kitten was still not in sight and assumed she was still using the restroom. "Hee hee hee! Kitty's gotta go, too!" She giggled. She eagerly jogged back to the arena and found somebody beaten and battered. When she came up to view the Rawk Hawk's latest victim- "Hu!" She gasped at seeing it was the Rawk Hawk himself, his beak dented and eyes darkened.

"Huaff…" The Mobian helped himself up and looked at Wendy. "You've been spared the Rawk's thrashings… but you're going to wish it was me by the time you face her." He limped away, leaving Wendy awestruck and terrified. She was already afraid of facing him herself, but apparently there was a stronger fighter in the stadium. She wished she stuck around to see this person…

"Wendell Berry's making his comeback, ladies and germs!" Floop announced—now he was swinging on the ceiling, as though he were an acrobat in the circus. "He's up against the hard hitters, the swift swingers (and I don't mean yours truly), the Chucksters!"

There were five snow-covered platforms where Sir Slushes were stationed – angry snowmen with top-hats that had red X's. Three more platforms, which were set on the stadium walls parallel to the ring edges, had Chargin' Chucks that threw baseballs. When the bell dinged, the baseballs and snowballs whipped in her direction, so Wendy thought fast and evaded. "Protego!" She decided to protect herself with a pink bubble so she could think. Wendy thought shooting the snowmen with fire spells was the best option… but the act of killing them would be awful, even if they were just common field enemies.

The baseballs were landing on the floor after hitting her shield, so Wendy decided to grab them herself. Dodging the other balls, Wendy chucked them up at the Sir Slushes' hats, and the snowmen fell apart once their weak spots were hit. One of the Slushes was on a platform directly above the ring and out of Wendy's view. She saw one of the other snow platforms, currently vacant, and it was short enough for her to jump and air-boost to. She had view of the remaining Slush, and caught a baseball to chuck up at his hat. With that, Wendy jumped back to the ring and shot fire spells to knock out the Chucks.

"Next up against Wendell, banned from fancy restaurants international, they're the Ear Killers!"

Three Boomboxers landed on individual platforms around the ring, and a Merenguy in the center—the purple demon with slug-like eyes and a hypnotic face began dancing wildly, forcing Wendy to look directly at it. The Boomboxers – yellow humanoids with boombox heads – seized the chance to shoot soundwaves at her. Wendy avoided the waves and hurriedly shot spells at the Merenguy. The monster dispersed into darkness like any demon, and once free of its spell, Wendy was able to shoot down the Boomboxers with Silencio spells.

"Wendell's next match is the Kamikaze Squad whodemandaninstantstart." _DING!_

With no time to prepare, Wendy was surrounded by four Voltorbs, four Bob-ombs, and one Electrode. "AHHH! PROTEGO!" Wendy whipped the shield over herself when the explosives lit, shrouding the entire ring in smoke and soot. When it cleared, Wendy's shield stayed sturdy. The bomb creatures were knocked out.

"Well, I probably speak the obvious when I say, Wendell's performance has been EXPLOSIVE this whole tournament!" Floop grinned at his audience, floating his platform close to the ring. "It's clear to me that this young man is a HUGE fan of my show and wants the honor of touring my castle."

"Ah-I… guess I am… heh heh." Wendell blushed at the recognition; and still had no other idea why Facilier would sign her up for this.

"If he wins this next match, he just may have the glorious honor! But it won't be easy to best the maiden who conquered Rawk Hawk."

Wendy's heart almost stopped—she didn't expect to face Rawk Hawk's superior so quickly. Well, at least she didn't exhaust much energy against these last enemies.

"She had to wash her face and fix her hair braids, but now she's revved and ready to go!" The blue doors opened, and Wendy heard the opponent running in. On the opposite side of the ring, she couldn't quite see her, but Wendy kept her Lamia Scale raised in case of a surprise attack. "Known as the 'Sky Dancer' by many, she LOVES to dazzle her fans!" Wendy felt her heart racing with anxiety; in the next second, she would view her adversary. "CHELIA BLEN-"

"AAAAH!" The girl in question hit the final step onto the ring with her foot, causing herself to fall on her face. She had reddish-magenta hair tied in two spiky pigtails by orange bows. She wore a pink shirt whose sleeves were detached from the body, going into white gloves. The shirt had a dark blue center, and she wore a sky-blue skirt. She had long black socks that went into white leg-warmers, and black sneakers with pink tongues and soles. "Uh… hehe." She looked up and sported a nervous grin. She had pretty blue eyes. "That totally Flooped."

The audience burst into as much laughter as they had with Wendell before. "NO FAIR!" Donna shouted. "THAT GIRL'S stealing Wendy's ACT!"

"Let's gather a mob and WHALE on her!" Sonny readied his hammer.

"PUBLIC MURDER!" both cried.

"KEEP IT DOWN!" Facilier smacked the twins. "Ugh… Although, they are uncannily similar…"

"Yes, it's almost fate that two magic airbenders would go one-on-one in the same tournament." Floop said. "So I think these star-crossed fighters deserve an atmosphere more fitting." He pressed a switch, and the stadium's very roof came open, exposing the vibrant blue sky. The ring began to rise, and the girls felt the chill and strength of the wind once it brought them outside.

"Ahh-!" Wendy stumbled under the force of the wind, but maintained composure. Her scarf flew off, and she watched it fall into the stadium. "Uh-oh…" She sank to her knees and held her stomach, feeling a twist. "Mr. Facilier's charm is wearing off… I hope I don't…"

"Ooo, what a pretty wand!" Chelia raced over and swiped Wendy's wand off the ground.

"HEY, that's mine!" the purple-haired shouted, standing up. "Please give it back!"

"Wait a minute…" Chelia moved the rose quartz wand and studied every inch. "You have a Lamia Scale, too!" With that, she pulled out her own.

"Oh!" Wendy gaped. "You have the same…"

"I bought it from a store in Orchid Bay a few years ago." Chelia crossed both pink wands. "The lady said not many wizards have one."

"Orchid Bay…" Wendy thought back to her visit at Orchid Bay Mall. The words of Tasha were, _"Some chick with pink hair. I think she's like, a dancer."_

"I heard that they only work for wizards with pure-hearted souls. I didn't think that was me, but…" Chelia chuckled at the thought. "Well, here you go!" She tossed the wand back to Wendy, who was caught by surprise and stumbled in trying to grab it. "You make sure to hold onto that."

"Uh… thanks." Wendy said, finding this pleasant interaction a bit odd.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name's Chelia Blendy." She held a hand out. "What's yours?"

 _Even her name's similar…_ "I'm Wendell Berry."

"Wendell Berry? Like the American novelist?"

"Who?"

"Ten seconds!" Floop announced.

Chelia jogged back to her side of the ring and stood poised. "Well, I wish you the best of luck!"

Wendy turned serious and poised herself. "Yeah. You, too."

The bell dinged, and Chelia was first to spin her arms and blast twin gusts of black wind at Wendell, who dodged to her right with a start. "Why is your wind black? !" Wendy shouted, almost forgetting to use her boy voice.

"Because I'm using Haki with my airbending!" Chelia held up both arms, which were turned black like iron. "Not many benders know you can do that." She punched more air gusts, so Wendy projected a bubble shield, but Chelia shot spells from her own Lamia Scale to make it crack. She flew over for a mighty kick that shattered the shield, but Wendy was already set to dash left and run around, sending an air-slice with her leg. Chelia countered, then dashed up to Wendy's right so swiftly, the momentum caused Wendy to fall on her rear. "And that's not the only thing I can do! I also have God Chi."

"God Chi? What is that?"

"Tell ya later." She shot a Stun Spell, but Wendy rolled away and hopped back to her feet, whipping Disarming Spells at her opponent that Chelia was quick to block. The Sky Dancer did a breakdance and sent a black wind shockwave along the floor, but Wendy jumped, blasting twin air blasts to push Chelia across the ring. Chelia jumped to her feet and yelled, "Infatua!"

A string of large hearts flew out of her wand, phasing through Wendy's head as the atmosphere flashed red, and her expression was dumbfounded. After the spell finished, Wendy shook back to reality. "What was that?"

"HUH? But that usually makes boys go head-over-heels for me!"

"'Guess I don't find you attractive." Wendy blushed and shrugged. Chelia growled and punched another black wind blast, which Wendy evaded and began to whirl a cyclone around her left hand. "Repiti!" She cast the spell to keep it spinning, then she cast an endless cyclone over her right hand. She dashed at Chelia, dodging her spells, then threw an uppercut that sent her spiraling into the air via the Cyclone Fist. Chelia recomposed, kicking one foot down as she spun around and conjured black wind around it. Wendy dodged, gaping at how Chelia dented a crater in the floor from the impact.

Chelia began to spin at an incredibly rapid pace. Wendy stood her ground when the air was being pulled in to her, and clouds began to appear above them. Chelia stopped spinning and was clearly dizzy, but she cast her own "Troia!" and ridded the effect. Chelia took a great breath that inhaled the clouds above, so thinking fast, Wendy inhaled and sucked in some clouds herself. When their lungs were full and clogged, they stopped inhaling and aimed at each other.

"Sky Dragon-"

"Sky God-"

 _"ROOOOAAAAR!"_ A white cyclone spun against a black cyclone, and it felt like the impact made Glitzville sway in the air. They could barely breathe in the furious wind, and the mix of white and black was blinding. "Hu!" Chelia gasped when Wendy leapt through the wind, eyes squinted, and punched the Sky Dancer with a Cyclone Fist. She slid across the ring as the wind cleared away. The girls could breathe and catch their breath.

Chelia was staring awestruck at Wendy as she helped herself up. While keeping her wand raised, Wendy was confused as to why she was getting this look. …Wendy felt over her eyes and realized the contacts were missing. She grabbed the end of her ponytail and pulled it in front of her. It was blue.

She gasped and tried to cover her hair with her hands. Panic was clear in her red eyes. The floating cameras recording their fight depicted the revelation on the arena screens, and everyone was murmuring. Facilier and the twins felt great concern, and Romeo felt at a loss for words. Floop stroked his chin and bore an insightful stare, his suspicion having been confirmed.

"You…" Chelia pointed at her. "You're the girl on the wanted posters. The… 'Sky Dragon.'"

Wendy could feel the audience gazing at her with fear, knowing a wanted criminal was in their city. She was on the verge of tearing at the idea. "I…I'm…"

 _"WENDY, HELP!"_

"That voice!" Wendy gasped, looking up at a hot-air balloon designed like Meowth. A man with blue hair and a woman with red hair were holding a net, in which a winged white kitten was squirming. "CARLA!"

"Prepare for trouble, your show has been cancelled!" the woman started.

"And make it double, like Gretel and Hansel." the man followed.

"To protect the world from family-friendly fights!"

"To unite all people within our spotlights."

"To denounce the evils of airheaded girls!"

"To extend our reach across the worlds!"

"JESSIE!"

"James."

"Team Rocket is taking all the glitz and glory today!"

"Give up now, or we'll have our way!"

"Meeeeowth: Let's play!" ("Woooobbuffet.")

"What're you people doing? ! Let my friend go!" Wendy demanded.

"Tough break, toots!" Meowth retorted. "But if ya wants, we can send ya an invitation to the wedding! If you be good, we might even let you in the photo! Catch ya later!" The balloon drifted across town quickly.

"COME BACK!" Wendy leapt off the ring and down the building's roof.

As the stadium goers were rushedly clearing out, Wendy's scarf ended up landing in Romeo's hands. …The boy put it around his neck and said with a deeper voice, "Testosterone!"

…

"Grrrr! Who do you people think you are? !" Carla squirmed helplessly in the net. "A couple of poachers? !"

"We're more than just poachers, Miss!" Meowth declared. "We're Team Rocket, the greatest of Pokémon hunters! And I'm Meowth, the smartest and most admired cat in the entire crew!"

"Let me out of this thing right now! I'm not a Pokémon!"

"We'll see about that!" Jessie declared, ready to throw. "GO, Pokéball!"

The red and white device struck Carla in the head. She morphed into red energy and was sucked into the ball through the net. Team Rocket gaped… Their question has been answered so easily. Now they had to wait for the ball to stop beeping. Sadly, the ball popped open, and Carla escaped capture.

The kitten shook her fur until it was untangled. "Mr. Facilier once showed us a book that described Pokéballs. They convert creatures or objects into energy and trap them inside a subspace-like dimension. They can work on anything, except for humans. However, the Pokéballs are only designed to create holographic spaces for any registered Pokémon, which allows said Pokémon to grow more friendly with their trainers. Sadly, I do not have the attributes a Pokémon possesses, and even then, I would not fall for such brainwashing."

"That's a shame." Jessie said. "But I'm sure someone will be willing to fetch a hefty price for you somewhere."

"Wait a second!" Meowth shouted. "We ain't gonna sell her anywhere! 'Cause she's joining with us." Meowth took Carla's paws. The love in his eyes and the red on his face was in plain view of the winged kitten. "Dis crew always felt so incomplete without another talking animal of the opposite gender. Now look at who we found! A beautiful goil, with bee-yootiful wings like an angel!"

Carla felt herself redden when Meowth twirled her around, and she fell back into his arms. "Oh, Carl. Beautiful angel, Carl. Won't you be my bride? Together, we'll have wonderful kids. Wonderful half-angel kids. Whaddya say, Carl? Let's get married here and now. Mwwwww…" He puckered his lips and moved closer.

"SHYAH!" Carla threw a furious smack and slapped him off. "Are you INSANE? ! Marry YOU? AUCK! I wouldn't marry a tomcat like you if we were the only two sentient animals on the planet! If you insist on going nude wherever you walk, I can imagine we wouldn't get invited to dinner parties. What, you think because you have a golden charm on your head, that makes up for it? Plus, you smell horrible, your mouth reeks of fish. I bet you spent the last 15 years trying to capture a single mouse."

Meowth felt his heart shatter. Sadness overcame him. "Well… I guess dat's it den. Sniff. I got nothin' else to live for."

From a perspective, Meowth was walking down a dirt road, into the orange sunset. _"Good-bye… friends…"_

Jessie's head appeared over the picture, looking unimpressed. "Just paint yourself blue already." she remarked.

 _"Carlaaaaa!"_ The Rocket Agents looked over the balloon's basket to see Wendy and Chelia chasing them across a town road, stopping at the city's railing which Team Rocket had passed over.

"WENDY!" Carla stretched her wings and flew down to the two girls.

"Carla!" Wendy grabbed the kitten in her arms and hugged her. "Thank goodness you're safe!"

"Hey, Wendy, let's teach these kidnappers a lesson!" Chelia said excitedly.

"I agree." Both girls stood together and took big breaths. "Sky Dragon/God ROOOOAAAAR!" The white and black cyclones merged together to blow the balloon away.

 _"Looks like Team Rocket's vaca' is blowing awaaaaay!" ("-buffet!")_ Twinkle.

"That was unhumorously unproductive." Carla sighed.

"THERE you two ladies are!" The girls turned around to see Floop, alongside several cameramen and stadium goers. The host calmly approached them with his friendly smile. Once between the two girls, he grabbed their arms and raised them high. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a tie! Throwing the competition and working together to save something they both hold dear! These girls are the SISTERS of Sky! And they have BOTH won the honor of touring MY castle on Foogly Mountain!"

"YAAAAAAAYYYY!"

Wendy and Chelia exchanged flushed grins. This host kind of misunderstood, but as long as it made the people excited, there was no reason to speak up. "I'll get the blimp all set up for both of you!" Floop walked away and gave thumbs-ups to both girls. "Join me when you're ready and bring whatever guests you like. Wonderful show, girls, wonderful!"

The girls saw him go in the direction of a blimp whose design was fitting for his whacky personality. "Hwow, a trip to Foogly Palace!" Chelia jumped joyfully. "We're really lucky girls, Wendy!"

"Y-Yeah! I guess we are!" Wendy grinned.

"I'll see you there!" Chelia waved as she jogged backwards. "Can't wait to talk- AAH!" She tripped when she tried to turn forward. "Uh, hehe!" She blushed and kept jogging.

"WEN-dyyyyyy!" Facilier surprised his student with a hug from behind. "Y'all made the fans go WILD! I knew everyone'd love you, who of us ain't surprised?"

"WE AREN'T!" the twins cheered.

"I'm really glad I tried." Wendy blushed. "But is this why you signed me up for this, Mister Facilier? Are we going to Floop's castle to learn something?"

Facilier's grin shrank into a nervous frown. "Weeeell… I ain't comin' with you. I'll let these tykes come along and watch your back, but… Sigh, just look at this paper." He gave Wendy a paper that was completely blank. "Aparecium." Facilier tapped his cane to it, and words appeared.

Wendy and Carla skimmed it. They gasped. "No way! Mister Facilier, where did you…"

"It's from yo' daddy. Accordin' to him, Floop is an apprentice to one of the World Leaders. And… he wants you to destroy his castle."

 **Glitzville Candy Shop**

The store was currently empty with almost all the town inside the Glitz Pit. When Sally the Salesman Sugar Fairy viewed a camera monitor that depicted the nearest edge of town, Blackberry Guards were stepping off of Cinnamon Ships. _"Oh well. This town was fun while it lasted!"_

The adorable fairy opened the case containing the blue cupcake with golden icing. She pulled it out and held it up with only her teeny right hand. She reached her left hand into a back pocket and pulled out a giant (normal size) detonator, which she placed into the glass case. _"Bye bye, delectable goodies!"_

The time it took for the bomb to count down was the same time it took for the teeny fairy to carry the cupcake down a long escape tunnel. The further she got down the zigzaggy passage, the faster the bomb was beeping. She got to a secret hangar where she chucked the cupcake onto a teeny ship and drove off. The Blackberry Guards entered the shop on its last few beeps. _Beebeebeebeeeeeep!_

The candy shop exploded and destroyed everything inside in a fiery blaze. The Sugar Fairy was presumed dead. The very idea made everyone in Glitzville cry.

* * *

 **Floop comes from _Spy Kids_ , Chelia is from _Fairy Tail_ , Lefty Left-Right is from _Simpsons_ , and Jasper is from _Steven Universe_ (it's not the same Jasper, however we have seen this particular one before). I think next time, we'll switch back to Augustus, just because I want Floop's Castle to happen… a bit later as far as in-story time. Kids, don't burn down stores.**


	10. Sugar Princess

**This chapter would come after Chapter 15.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 10: Sugar Princess_**

 **Africa; Sugar Deserts**

An indigo sky filled with stars hung over the Sugar Deserts. K. Lumsy finally arrived at the shore, panting in exhaust as the Marzipans plus Fairy Princess climbed off. "You did well, Mr. Lumsy." Aisling told him softly, patting his snout. "You may rest."

"I'm not sure out in the open is a good thing." Augustus said. "He's a real attention-attracter."

"I agree, he's very attractive- OW!" Stewie said, before Rallo smacked him.

"So why're we here again?" Rallo asked.

"When I was little, my mom told me a story about the Sugar Fairy Kingdom in Sugar Deserts." Augustus took out his lollipop, which was shriveled and close to completion. "It's the same desert where the Candegyptians lived 5,000 years ago. Word is that the Sugar Fairies taught them their magic."

"Of course, the legend of Sugar Fairy Kingdom was passed off as a fairytale." Aisling followed, wiggling her toes in the sugary sand. "But I can assure you it is real. The Fairy Princess is a friend of mine."

"Thanks for confirming that before I made the assumption 'All Fairy Princesses know each other.'" Augustus put the lolli back in his mouth.

"Actually, she isn't _completely_ my friend. Our leader, Mavis adores her, but I find her very rude. And that's _beside_ all of this unnatural sugar! Uck, I can't…" Aisling's toes twitched in the sand, "STAND this substance! A desert must be composed of billions of tiny rocks, it is supposed to feel warm on your feet, but THIS sand is filled with SUGAR! UGH, it'll take forever to wash it off!"

"It ain't supposed to feel warm, it's nighttime!" Augustus yelled, tossing the barren lolli stick away. "Although…" He got down and pressed the back of his hand to the sand. "It does feel a bit warm for night."

"The Sugar Fairy Princess is a firebender." Aisling explained. "Her chi flows into the sugar and creates an effect that invigorates those who consume it. In Sugar Kingdom, a river of the warmest cocoa flows and fills all the fairies with sugary delight. The warmth of that river touches the desert sand from below. It is underground."

"The Fairy Kingdom is underground? So, do we dig there?"

"Only a Sugar Fairy can open the gate. But ordinarily, there's one or two out getting a snack…"

The four Marzipans followed Aisling over a large dune, viewing a huge bar of chocolate lodged in the sand on the other side. They heard a weak, squeaky grunting sound as they approached the chocolate. They saw the shadow of something little trying to lift it.

 _"Mmm!… Mmm!…"_ A Sugar Fairy wearing a white robe was trying to lift the huge candy. She heard the patter of large footsteps behind her and turned around. Aisling squatted for a closer look at the Sugar Fairy. _"Oh! Big People! Hello, Big People. I was trying to take this candy to my friends, but I'm much too teeny to lift it. Perhaps your big arms could suffice."_

"Yeeeah… I'm no Superman, sorry." Augustus scratched his head. "Listen, can you take us to the Sugar Fairy Kingdom?"

"Always to the point with you, isn't it?" Aisling glared reprovingly at him. "Sigh, I suppose I'm the only one who knows and practices the word 'kindness.'" She turned back to the fairy with a polite smile. "Hello, Miss. My name is Aisling, the Forest Fairy Princess. I am acquainted with the Sugar Fairy Princess and request an audience with her. I would like to enter your homeland and bring these guests."

 _"Ooo! I know you! The princess described you, Princess Forest Fairy. She said you were weird, and stinky, and ate your own fleas!"_

"SHE SAID _WHAT_ ABOUT ME? !" Aisling growled with venomous fangs.

 _"Eeeeek!"_ The fairy zipped and hid behind Augustus's boot. _"Please protect me, Mr. Giant! I don't want my head yanked off!"_

"You know, things might be babyish, but boy, do I wanna eat 'em." Augustus said with adoration.

Aisling calmed down and stood up straight. "Lucky for you, sugar is toxic to me. Now, would you show us the entrance to your hometown or won't you?"

 _"I want to, People. I really do."_ The fairy's adorable expression turned sad. _"But it's really, really bad. Monsters broke into our home. They want to eat all Sugar Fairies for lunch, breakfast, AND dinner!"_

"That's not even the correct order! !" Rallo cried and pressed his face against Augustus's pants leg. "PLEASE let's help them, Captain!"

"Easy, Monty! 'Course we're going to help. I have a few favors to ask the Sugar Princess, anyway. Take us to your homeland and we'll sweep the floor with all them monsters." Augustus started a new lollipop.

 _"We would appreciate that_ berry _much, Big Person. A big and strong man like you is sure to beat hundreds of 'em! My name is Holly, the Helpful Sugar Fairy. I'll let all of you into my home. Everybody stand together, and keep all hands and feets inside the circle."_ The Sugar Fairy pulled a larger-than-her candycane out of her pocket as she skipped away. She hummed a little, _"Dee dee dee dee…"_ as she began to draw a great wide circle into the sand around them.

"Man, if we about to shrink right now, I bet I be _supeeeeerrr_ cute." Rallo said.

"More like super inconvenient." Augustus remarked. "Hey Forest Fairy, you ever been to the Sugar Fairy Kingdom? What's gonna happen?"

"No, I've never been, I was just told you needed a Sugar Fairy to go there." Aisling replied. "Truthfully, I would never want to come here even for your sake, but I have a few things to speak with the princess about as well."

"Well, aren't you lucky we came along."

 _"Okay, Big People! The circly's finished!"_ Holly said. _"Get ready to fall."_

Almost instantly, the sand within the circle transformed into quicksand that they quickly sank into. They began rapidly sliding through a tunnel, unable to stand or balance on the slippery sand slope. Already, they thought this to be an odd choice of environment for adorable creatures like the Sugar Fairies. Living under the surface of a desert like scorpion-mole people, they couldn't even imagine their kingdom looking cute.

They slid down for several minutes before they landed on a sandy bottom. They weren't sure what to expect the area to look like… perhaps large, or even small teapots or gingerbread houses, stationed about an underground landscape and whose only source of lights were candles. …When they opened their eyes, the sight left them awestruck. (Play "Duplicitous Delve" from _Yoshi's Woolly World_!)

The landscape was a chocolaty brown, there was a river of cocoa, and large teapots stationed around small gingerbread houses. But what really stood out was the sky. A purple sky with darker purple clouds hovered above them, and a white sun peeked over the horizon. _"Tee hee hee! Don't be fooled!"_ laughed Holly. _"Or a fly might fly into your gawking mouths. We use magic to make an underground sky. The sun shines on everything! Isn't it beauteous?"_

"I'll say!" Augustus beamed. "I can't believe no one ever found this!"

Aisling sniffed, her expression dark. "Someone has. Demons. My least favorite scent."

"We'll wipe them out!" Augustus twirled his Candycane Cutlass, eager to explore. "Come on, brats, let's march!"

 _Stage B-7: Sugar Kingdom_

 _Mission: Meet the Sugar Fairy Princess._

Augustus jumped across a trio of platforms before stopping at a larger one, in which Leevers emerged from. The captain chopped the creatures with his sword. _"That was beautiful swordplay, Big Person!"_ Holly said admiringly. _"Allow me to help you now!"_ She danced over to a large cup of sugar on the right side of the foothold, scooping some in her tiny teaspoon and sprinkling it on Augustus's Gobstopper. _"Do you see those floating cubes in the air? You can fill them with sugar by hitting them with your ball thingy!"_

Augustus saw a row of floating outlines that shaped like cubes leading to a path on the left. The captain tossed his sugar-coated Gobstopper to bounce around the cubes, making them white and dense. The pirates could bounce across, but the sugary platforms dissolved as soon as they stepped on them, so they moved quickly. On this new path, rows of Pokeys popped out of the ground, with one of them in each row being taller. Augustus tossed his Gobstopper against the short ones' heads while Maggie shot the heads off the tall ones.

The path turned left and would lead to a tall, climbable cliff. Nejirons popped out of the ground, so Maggie shot bullets to destroy the flammable monsters before they got close. They watched as Aisling used her nimble, animal-like reflexes to hop onto the wall that their path was between, sprinting up to the cliff and making terrific leaps to get up above. The Forest Fairy clearly didn't need to wait for the slow humans and could bypass the whole stage if she wanted.

The cliffside was too sturdy for their Corn-Clambers to pierce into, so the safest option was to simply climb it with hands and feet. The babies held onto Augustus while he did the climbing, but when Red Bubbles (winged skulls encased in fire) flew down from over the top, Maggie shot directly up to destroy them. Thanks to her, they made it to the top of the cliff without trouble.

Three Lizalfos with wrecking ball tails ambushed them. They swung their so-called appendages at the pirates, while the babies dropped off Augustus so the captain could roll left and avoid. Augustus jumped and stomped down on a Lizalfos's tail when it swung, then stabbed the Candycane Cutlass several times into its chest. The second Lizalfos tried to sink its teeth into Rallo's afro, but the creature ended up biting a boombox unexpectedly, which then blasted loud notes to send the creature falling off the cliff. The third Lizalfos had its tail positioned to block Maggie's gun, but the sniper simply shot a bullet to bounce off the ball's bottom, then pierce the creature's stomach.

The triplet demons dispersed into darkness. Augustus noticed pirate flags were stationed and blowing in a weak breeze. They bore the image of a frowning skull with yellow hair. "Wait a second, this is Mandy's Jolly Roger!" Augustus realized. "Don't tell me the Boogey Pirates got here before we did? !"

 _"I dunno the answer, Big Person."_ Holly frowned. _"They been here since yesterday. I dunno why."_

The four Marzipans progressed down a narrow, winding path down a hill. They were brought to the Cocoa River, where Holly waited by a tiny boat. _"To cross the Cocoa River, we have to take my tiny boat! Eat a Shrink Sweet to become as tiny as me."_

Augustus picked out four Shrink Sweets from a close-by patch, and the four pirates each ate one. Their bodies contracted to Holly's adorable size, so they could board her boat, which she rowed down the river using her teaspoon. She had to shift the boat left to avoid a mini waterfall of sugar from a teapot, then moved the boat right to avoid another one. Aisling was sitting on the left cliff and watching the boat's progress, swinging her feet back-and-forth above them.

Holly carefully turned the boat around corners of a narrow part of river. This part let out in a region of breathmint-bergs, which Holly maneuvered around. Fly Guys were swooping down to scoop cocoa into bowls, so Holly predicted their position and took care to avoid them, too – lest they be caught and dumped into a mini volcano. They were steadily being pulled into whirlpools, so Holly abandoned the boat and hopped across some large Life Savers that were floating and twirling in the river. The Marzipans followed her before the boat sank.

They made it onto a safe platform with Growth Gum, allowing the humans to grow back to normal. A Fly Guy floated down, holding a bowl of sugar as he used a spoon to fling it at them. Augustus KO'ed the Shy Guy with his Gobstopper, and Holly floated and caught the bowl. She sprinkled sugar on Augustus's Gobstopper, then he chucked it at the Sugar Cubes floating in the cocoa. The group jumped the cubes to a land with a jellybean garden. _"Aaaaahhh!"_ A Sugar Fairy with green garden clothes, which had tiny colorful jellybeans, was flailing her arms. _"Mean rats stole my Magic Jellybeans! Help me, Oversized People!"_

They saw a rat scampering around the small, nearby field, and surprisingly it was too quick for Maggie's bullets to blast. In each corner, there were four mouse holes that warped to other holes, but the mouse would just run around the center if they were all guarding one. Rallo decided to stick his head into the ground and shake the earth with boombox, forcing a mini maze to sprout up on the field. With less directions to go, the rat ended up cornered by Rallo, who took the Magic Jellybean.

They followed a back road that sloped down into a narrow trench, where numerous rats were crawling around a maze of tunnels within the right wall. When Augustus threw his Gobstopper at one rat, they all panicked, moved quickly in disorganized fashion, and then slowed down. Augustus saw one rat toss a jellybean to another rat, so he struck that one with the Gobstopper. Another rat grabbed it, and they scattered around again. Augustus had to track the correct rat, then do one more round, before the Magic Jellybean was thrown down to him.

On the east side from the center field, there was a rat riding a mini skateboard around a looping track. Maggie hopped on a bigger, available skateboard to chase. She went up a ramp and performed a midair pose, landing on a platform which led her down a slope to gain speed. She turned a tight left corner, rolling on a path with long vertical gaps she could maneuver around. Maggie jumped a few platforms, seeing the next turn coming, where she had to go up a corner ramp, shift left, and gain more speed upon sliding down. Just when she would pass the starting line again, she caught the rat and took his jellybean.

When the Marzipans returned to bring the beans back to the gardener fairy (whose name was Lila Green), Aisling was there to meet them. Lila took the beans and put them in the soil. "So if you're the Forest Fairy, can you make them grow?" Augustus asked.

" _Candy_ beans, that's a stretch." Aisling huffed.

 _"Don't worries."_ Lila said. _"To show my graciousness, I'll create a path!"_ She watered the beans with soda, and a long beanstalk stretched across part of the Cocoa River. Large, standable beans grew on the stalk, but they were too far apart to jump normally. Thankfully, Lila lent them some Bounce Gum she had planted, and they used the extra bouncepower to get across the leaves (though Aisling had no qualms running across the stalk on all fours).

They landed on a foothold before a long trench, in which several huge teapots were lodged in and pouring sugar. Aisling nimbly Wall Jumped down the trench, but the humans were forced to bite a Fudgepuffsicle from a bushel. They slowly floated down the trench in their inflated forms, having to go through the sugar downpours to shift lower. If they missed the sugar, they would float into stationary Eye-Cones (eyeball monsters with ice cream cone spikes), though some sugar-pours would push them into Eye-Cones if they sunk too low.

Their bodies deflated once they made it to safe ground. They trekked a dry path between sugar-covered ground, which looked more like snow. They smiled at the Sugar Fairies who were shoveling sugar into their teapot carriages, making sugar snowmen, and other adorable snow-related activities. In an open area, three Fatblin were standing guard, with one of them using a metal shield. Augustus dashed up to the left one and chopped up its wood shield with his cutlass. He expertly dodged his and the metal shield's spears, then chopped the wood shield of the right one.

"Hey Ralls, time for a science lesson!" Augustus grabbed the afro child, who extracted his stereos as the teen shoved them against the Fatblins' bellies. Rallo boomed his stereos, and the powerful soundwaves jiggled the fat to the point that the monsters hacked junk, then exploded. As for the Metal Shield Fatblin, Augustus leapt up and over its choice defense, shoving his Gobstopper down its throat. The demon choked and fell over dead. When his body disappeared, the captain could take the Gobstopper back.

 _"Up there is the Sugar Palace where Princess Sugar Fairy lives."_ Holly pointed at a giant teapot perched above a large canyon. _"We just have to climb this gihugic rock!"_

There were Moblin patrolling in the pass between the trench, wielding spears that had Mandy's pirate flag. Maggie shot them each in their big pig noses, and one bullet was all it took to take them out. The pirates used their Licoropes to rope candycane branches sticking out of the left trench wall, swinging up to a higher ledge that had a tunnel in the wall. They followed it to the opposite side of this trench wall, which overlooked a chasm of cocoa. Partway across the chasm, on a tall pillar, a Sugar Fairy was shooting the side of a cliff on their left with soda. _"That's Calcy, the Cannon Fairy. She'll help you swing across!"_ Holly said.

A jellybean vine wall stretched across that part of cliff, with drooping branches that stretched when Calcy hit them with soda. The pirates swung the stretched branches with their Licoropes, keeping an eye for which ones were stretched, and swinging off the ones that were about to droop. Orange Soda Chuchu appeared on some areas, so Augustus sliced them with his cutlass. Snapdragons also popped out of holes to eat a few branches, forcing the pirates to make greater swings to further branches. Aisling was casually laying a small ledge above the vine wall, swaying her head and foot to the music.

Eventually, the vines brought them to a safe ledge, where they went up a short staircase to get atop the left trench wall. Eenos were roaming within the sugary snow, hurdling sugarballs at the explorers, but Augustus's Gobstopper proved stronger in knocking them out. Conveniently, his Gobstopper got drenched in the sugar, so he could throw them at the Sugar Cubes leading across to the top of the right trench wall. Suddenly, Aisling leaped across from the left wall and raced toward the Sugar Palace, making a great leap to the top of the teapot. There were Sir Sugars (Sir Slushes made of sugar) guarding the stairs to the Sugar Palace. Again, it took one hit from the Gobstopper on their top-hat weak points to defeat the monsters. The adventurers went up the stairs to the Sugar Palace.

 _"Oopsie!"_ Holly perked up. _"The door is too tiny for Big People! You have to go from up above!"_ She skipped around to behind the teapot, where a ladder was hanging. The sign read _For Big People_ , so the four climbed it to the top of the pot… which they just realized those two words were the same, backwards. Aisling was squatted on the pot, looking down into it with a curious smile. The Forest Fairy dove inside, Holly lightly jumped after, then Augustus grabbed his crew and took the dive next.

For some reason, they expected to hit a ground inside the two-story teapot, but instead, they plummeted down a surprisingly long shaft. There were numerous floors around the sides and stairs that kept spiraling down, with Sugar Fairies walking on them. They watched Aisling maneuver around the air as she fell ahead, avoiding the Eye-Cones that floated in the drop. Mothulas attempted to gnash the pirates, but Augustus was quick to chop them with his cutlass. He shifted left of a diagonal Eye-Cone row that closed the space between him and the side, but he grabbed a Gold Wonka Bar after getting through. He shifted to the center, where the space between the Eye-Cones grew tighter, but when Augustus got through, he felt his boots hit the floor. He set the babies down as they followed Holly and Aisling through a human-size doorway. (End song.)

 _"Welcome to Sugar Fairy Palace!"_ Holly announced to the humans. The palace interior was mostly white with a few chocolate-colored pillars and tiles. Augustus reached up and touched the ceiling while Aisling brushed her feet on the floor. It felt like fine china, except harder and sturdier. Naturally, the palace felt small and cramped to the big humans, as Sugar Fairies were roaming the low floor and a second floor which they had view of.

 _"Look, everybody! Big People!"_

 _"Oh, Em, Gee! They're so silly and fun-looking!"_

 _"That one looks like a football! Will he go spin if I throw him?"_

 _"I wanna snuggle and cuddle in that chocolate one's fluffy black hair!"_

"I wanna get mad at you for calling me that, but I just wanna eats you more!" Rallo exclaimed in adoration.

 _"The white one smells stinky!"_

 _"Can we give that baby milk?"_

 _"Do you like cookies, Big People?"_

All of them were equally tiny, equally cute, and equally squeaky. The humans' hearts were melting; these fairies were just too adorable for words. They wondered if they were actually feeling this way or if this was some hypnotic spell. "Ahem… Good evening, Sugar Fairies." Aisling bowed (slightly lower than she already was). "We would like to speak to your princess. It would be very kind of you to take us to her."

 _"EWWWWW! HER BREATH IS STINKY! !"_ All of their teeny eyes shut tight, and their teeny noses were covered.

"SO CUUUUUTE!" the humans screamed.

Aisling's eyes narrowed with anger. "Just show us." she said through gritted teeth.

 _"This way, my new chummy-wummies!"_ Holly skipped forward. _"The princess will be scrumptious to see you!"_

The giants crawled through another human-size door and went up stairs to an even larger, cave-like room. There was a big teapot on a central pillar, and sugar was pouring into it from the ceiling. The tip of the pot's spout glowed white. There was a gentle _pop_ , and a sugary white light came out and floated to them. The light decreased and revealed the Sugar Fairy Princess. She had brownish-black hair in two pigtails, and an orange dress with chibi white boots. Her adorable slanted purple eyes were complimented by a grumpy-looking frown.

 _Princess of Sugar Fairies_

 _ZEIRA_

The teeny fairy skipped across the air toward the pirates, carrying her big ladle. She floated before Augustus's face, who was smiling delightfully at the creature. She whacked him on the head with the spoon. "What're you, dum? Bow to me!" she yelled in a cute, but hotheaded tone.

"Ow!" Augustus rubbed the sore spot. "What gives?"

"You're bigger than me! I don't like that. Bow to me so you appear smaller."

"You're delightful as always, Princess Zeira." Aisling remarked.

"P.U.! I thought I smelled something stinky!" Zeira waved a chibi hand by her chibi nose. "What're you doing here, Aisling? Did you bring these humans?"

"Yah, she did." Augustus replied rudely. "Feel free to thank us for chasing the monsters off. I'll name ya a few ways you can reward us. One, I had this Candy Virus for a short time, and it-"

A burst of fire emerged from Zeira's head and sides, startling the five. Despite the fairy's size, the spouts were huge and very hot. "You'll show respect in my presence." The fires vanished. "And for your information, I already know who you are, Augustus. The Big Mom Pirates are very infamous in the Sugar Fairy community. My people were berry much terrified of them."

"I'm _berry_ much tired of your attempt at being cute by using cute words that normal people wouldn't use in the current CONTEXT!" Augustus folded his arms. "Listen, the Big Mom Pirates are gone. We're the Marzipan Pirates and we're different. Our number one goal is to have adventure, and adventure calls us to find the Lost Candies."

"What? Why do you want to find the Lost Candies?"

"To see if they exist." Augustus pulled out his barren lollipop stick and threw it away.

"The Lost Candies are ancient and sacred relics. They aren't meant to be found or used by anyone."

"Neither were the Sugary Wonders, but that didn't stop my whole ancestry from finding them countless times throughout history."

"The Sugary Wonders were originally created to reward the Kids Next Door. But we Sugar Fairies are protectors of the Lost Candies, and our job is more than difficult."

"That explains it, 'cause you don't do it well." Augustus retorted, starting a new lollipop. "The Sun Cream up on Buttermilk Building was destroyed by Lord Licorice."

"W-What? !" Zeira was taken aback. "That's impossible! How could anyone-"

 _"AAAAAAHHHHH!"_ Adorable, high-pitch screams rang from the palace foyer, and sapphire flames burned into the chamber. A Sugar Fairy rushed in, looking frantic. _"Princess, Princess! Big mean Big Monsters are- EYAAAH!"_ She ran when a blue flame was thrown at her.

"It doesn't even feel satisfying to trample over your land." A woman with black armor and messy black hair marched in with Flare Dancers at her beckon. "No defenses, no military… it's amazing how long you've gone without anybody conquering you."

Zeira floated between the Marzipans and the woman. "Who are you?" she asked with an angry chibi glare. "Are you with these Big Lugs or the monsters outside?"

"No way!" Augustus pushed the fairy aside for a better look. "You're one of Mandy's pirates! The Princess Azula from the Avatar Realms! You have a bounty of 76,000 gold pieces!"

Zeira gasped. "Of course! I once saw a wanted poster of her. She has a reputation for burning any town or landscape she walks upon. Azula the Blue Demolisher."

"The princess has heard of me, I'm flattered."

"Don't be. You look a lot uglier than on the poster, and fatter, too." Zeira snapped.

"WHAT? !"

"I don't like you. I want you out of my house RIGHT NOW!" Zeira blasted a massive breath of fire, but Azula sucked it right down her throat. When the fire stopped, she wiped her lips of imaginary crumbs.

"I've mastered Dragon Style bending." Azula smirked. "The ability to eat outside sources of my element and strengthen my chi. I've always been the strongest firebender in the Fire Nation, and my title stands to this day! But no matter how much I train, how strong I become, I can't achieve **LOGIA**." Blue flames burst from her arms when she shouted. "I don't understand what I'm doing **WRONG**." She burst again. "I know **Dragon** Style, and my chi evolved to **Sapphire** when I turned 11, so why after 20 years, I still can't make **LOGIA**!" Fire burst from her mouth.

"Maybe that's because you suck." Zeira said.

Angered, Azula Rocket Boosted over and snatched the fairy, startling the others with her speed. "I bet you're just BURNING with chi, you little fire ant!"

"Hey, let me go!" Zeira shook adorably. Her chibi arms were fragile and powerless like that of a doll's. "Stop holding me!"

"I bet swallowing you is just the kind of burst I need to finally make Logia. Happy landings!" She moved the helpless fairy to her open mouth.

Augustus SLICED Azula's wrist and forced her to let go. The former princess jumped away and growled at the teen. "Hey, perra. Don't you know cannibalism is wrong?"

"I used to cook and eat the turtle-ducks that swam around in my castle's pond." Azula said viciously. "I'll eat what I want! And a queen of my status deserves the highest quality dessert."

"Why don't you get a taste of me?" Augustus cocked a brow. "I've been eating dessert all my life, I bet I'm just _sensuous_."

"Hn hyou're gonna challenge me?" Azula chuckled. "You may have worked for the Big Mom Pirates, but you're still a child. Even the Avatar had more resolve than you."

"You still couldn't beat 'im. And you ain't beating me, either!"

"We'll see. Flare Dancers!" The four graceful flame demons leapt beside their master. "Let's DANCE!" (Play "Here Comes the Grizz" from _Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time_.)

 _Boss fight: Azula_

The Flare Dancers skated circles around Azula to create a ring of fire, and when Azula jumped through the fire, she pulled it along with her as she skated to Augustus. The teen ducked the left giant fire whip, then jumped her right one, but as Azula turned, she kicked a foot back and sent Augustus several meters. The boy recovered and rolled aside when Azula tossed flames at him, attempting to swing his cutlass at her, but Azula smacked the weapon away and kicked Augustus the opposite way. Grinning maniacally, the woman drew a knife, skating to Augustus while he was recovering. "AUUUHH!" The lollipop flew out of his mouth when he choked. Azula forced the knife against his neck and pushed him away.

"CAPTAIN!" the Baby Trio screamed. ("Mw-mw!")

Augustus grunted and helped himself up. "Wh…" He felt the part on his neck where she cut. "I'm not cut!"

"You're welcome." They all looked over at Aisling, who was sitting cross-legged and positioning her hands to face Augustus. Her book was open beside her.

"What are you doing?"

"We Forest Fairies provide special defense to human children. I can make it so your body doesn't get ruptured from attacks that would cut or burn you. You'll still feel pain, but these attacks won't be fatal."

"Fine, I'll take. But for the record, I'm no child, I'm a teenager."

"The Baby Trio is older than you. There's no more difference."

"DON'T interfere!" Azula skated over to burn the fairy, but Zeira exploded a flame wall to block her.

"Don't ignore me!" Augustus dashed up and punched Azula in the face, but she back-flipped, crouched, and did a breakdance fire shockwave. Augustus jumped and ran at Azula to swing more punches across her face, then the woman kicked on her rockets and flew away. The Flare Dancers surrounded Augustus and began to close in as they skated. The captain bounced his Gobstopper in his hand before hurling it at one of the dancers' heads. Their formation broke when its flame body disabled, leaving the roundish imp that was its real body.

The imp ran away when Augustus ran over, but the teen bypassed to grab his fallen cutlass. He then chased the Flareless Dancer and stabbed it multiple times before its body exploded. Augustus was hurt from the explosion, but no injuries were present thanks to Aisling's spell. The other three Flare Dancers glided over to kick him, but Augustus dodged aside, then raised his cutlass to defend from Azula's knife. She kicked her left foot up, but the teen boy jumped away from the flaming limb, then successfully struck the woman's face with his Gobstopper.

Azula skated away, lighting her whole body with sapphire flames as she sent wave after wave at her opponent. Augustus jumped them all, and Azula steadily maneuvered closer. The room turned dark when the firebender charged lightning in her hands. She waved her arms to channel her flow of chi, then was ready to strike her adversary. With fearless determination, Augustus dashed at the lady pirate, ready to slice her, but Azula jabbed her fingers at his chest and induced him with lightning.

"AAAAAHH!" In his weak moment, Azula punched him away. His body was still twitching from the shock.

"How long's that magic gonna last?" Rallo questioned.

"It won't hold up if he takes too many attacks." Aisling answered, still focusing her power despite Zeira's flame wall barrier. "He needs to be more careful."

 _"I feel so worried!"_ Holly yelled with adorable sad eyes. _"I wish I could help, but I'm so teeny!"_

"And he doesn't have Haki." Stewie said. "I'm not sure if he can beat her…"

Azula leaped, flipped in the air, and brought a flaming foot down on Augustus, but he grabbed the pirate's leg and swung her forward, slamming facefirst on the ground. Augustus recovered and ran when Azula got up and growled angrily. She thrusted flames out of her feet and hands and flew at him, ramming Augustus headfirst and smashing him against the wall. She jumped away and tossed fireballs, so Augustus ran leftward from her direction. The Flare Dancers skied at him from ahead, brimming emerald, and Augustus felt the light singe when he dove between two of them. When they circled and came back, Augustus ran to stab his cutlass into one of them. He jumped away before the dancer exploded.

The remaining two Flare Dancers morphed their embers to sapphire. "They can't do much with only two." Azula said. "Get over here, one of you." A Flare Dancer obeyed and skated over. Azula puckered her lips and _sluuuuuurped_ its fiery body down her lungs. The imp that remained skittered away as blue flames leaked out of the cracks in Azula's armor.

"Wait a second, aren't those creatures made of Underworld flames?" Augustus asked. "That's dangerous for normal firebenders!"

"It is!" Azula spoke devilishly. "But I LOVE hellfire! It's DELICIOUS!" A rocket burst from her back as she launched at Augustus, who raised his hands and grabbed hers. Azula kept flying and pushing him along, dodging her head when he punched his left fist, then head-butting him. Azula grabbed the dizzy teen by the legs and swung him around before hurling him away. Augustus got up to see Azula rocketing to him again, eyes full of madness, so he chucked his Gobstopper at whipping speed and struck her in the teeth. He then dodged aside to let her crash into a wall.

The teen captain ran at her from behind to furiously punch the back of her head. He then grabbed his cutlass and swung to cut, but the Fire Princess grabbed the candycane blade and melted it in her hand. She turned to him, and through the black bangs blocking her eyes, Augustus could see the undying fury. She punched him with Flame Fist, flying the boy back. She flew above him and pelted rapid fireballs, with Augustus withstanding the first few before rolling away. He grabbed his Gobstopper, flipping back when Azula punched down, then slamming the small hard sphere against her teeth. Augustus kicked her leg to knock her down, then threw the Gobstopper at her face again.

"THAT'S IT!" Azula snarled like a wild beast. "I'll burn EVERY shred of matter on your form so nothing remains!" She looked at the remaining Flare Dancer, whose body morphed into violet flames. She inhaled with as powerful a gust as Kirby, sucking the purple fire in.

"A Sapphire Firebender shouldn't even be able to use violet flames!" Augustus yelled.

"I will become **LOGIA**!" Purple flames leaked out of Azula's armor now. She punched bigger, hotter flames, so the best Augustus could do was dodge. "Nn, nn!" Augustus took a few hits, then Azula punched a greater flame from both fists to blow him back. "AAAH!"

"Ahhh!" Aisling grunted and fell on her side.

"What happened?" Zeira asked, dropping the flame wall.

"My magic's worn off. His body is vulnerable now."

 _"Oh…"_ Holly looked at the human boy with worry.

Azula stomped toward the captain with her arms drooped. "Cough, huh…" Her legs faltered, feeling overwhelmed by the violet fires.

"Heh… Feeling a bit sweaty?" Augustus smirked from his spot on the ground.

"I'll show you **SWEATY**!" Azula drew her knife and wobbled over to end her enemy. Augustus tried to stand- "Nnnn!" but he felt the pain catch up to him.

Azula bore a devilish smile. She would take sweet pride in slaying the Davy Back Fight deserter, Big Mom's grandson, and get basked in the glory from her fellow pirates. The viewers were horrified at the thought of Azula's victory, but Holly especially couldn't bear to let the human die. _"Big Person! !"_

"Holly, wait!" Zeira yelled when the tiny fairy danced over to Augustus. Azula swung her knife at the boy's neck, but Holly jumped in the way just in time. (End song.)

The upper half of the Sugar Fairy's body flew up into the air. Blood flew out of her. The entire event was so sudden and shocking, time appeared to slow down. When Holly's body hit the ground, she was faced upward. A smile was still on her face, and her eyes, though lifeless, were still big and adorable.

". . . ." Azula stared at the dead fairy. Her yellow eyes, still brimming with madness, were twitching. "Huff-huff…" The tears formed almost against her will. All of a sudden, her emotions were beyond her control. "SNIFF." Azula fell to her knees. She couldn't keep from crying, pouring out her emotions. She couldn't comprehend the severity and cruelty of her actions. She was utterly helpless to her own feelings.

Augustus, the babies, Zeira, and Aisling were crying. It was a horrible thing to happen. She was such a small creature… a small and innocent person… Holly, a kind and friendly fairy who helped total strangers like them across the kingdom. They were so grateful for her aid. They would've wished for anything better than this. Sugar Fairies were happy beings that filled peoples' hearts with glee. They reminded people that there was joy and meaning in life. So seeing one on the ground, dead… her expression gone unchanged… it opened their hearts and minds to everything.

Aisling felt a tiny tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Zeira, tears leaking from her tiny purple eyes. Zeira held her arms open, so Aisling took her in both hands and brought her to her chest. Aisling hugged her little friend with warmth. They remembered how much they loved each other, even if they fought. The kind of love that Princess Mavis wanted all creatures to share.

After 10 more minutes, they were mostly calmed down. Aisling released Zeira as she floated to Augustus. "Sniff… I almost forgot to… th-thank you… for saving me."

"It was no trouble." Augustus choked on his breath. "I'm sorry for… what happened…" They all looked at Azula. She was bowed on her hands and knees, creating a puddle with her tears. "I didn't think… someone like her would cry over this…"

"Everyone cries… when a Sugar Fairy dies." Zeira sniffled. "She killed her… so she'll cry for a week… if not longer. Sniff…" She faced Augustus again. "Listen… I decided that I'll help you. Is it true that you're looking for the Lost Candies?"

"We are… sniff." Augustus wiped the last tears away. "I'm trying to find them… for a friend."

"A friend?" Zeira looked confused under her tears. "Who… What friend? Almost nobody knows about the Lost Candies. The World's Leaders destroy any reference to them."

"Well, whoever Luviro's abuela is, she knew about them."

"Lu…viro?" The name sounded familiar to Zeira. She shook her head and spoke again. "Augustus… Have you ever heard of the Avalaran story called ' _Fairy Sisters_ '? The story talks about three Fairy Princesses, who are Aisling and her two friends, but there's an extra chapter that talks about a fourth sister, me. The only reference to the Lost Candies is that chapter, but when the Illuminati appeared roughly 4,000 years ago, they tore out those pages. I think I know the reason. Augustus, do you know what's going to happen at the end of this month?"

"This month? At the end of this month, Luviro's gonna die. He's terminally ill, and he wants to see the Lost Candies before it happens."

"…I see…" Zeira was clearly suspicious of his reason, though Augustus couldn't imagine why. "Listen, Augustus, I want you to find the Lost Candies. There are six of them. They were created by Giants from a world called Termina. One of the candies happens to be my teapot home." She gestured up at the giant teapot she came out of. "It contains a limitless storage of the purest sugar, and that sugar is what you'll need. I'll give it to you after you manage to find the other five candies."

"This sugar is what Luviro called the Sugar Fuel?" Augustus recalled from Luviro's story.

"Yes, it is. Now, I can't tell you everything, and I can't leave my homeland during this crisis. But as the Sugar Fairy Princess, I will be happy to grant you three wishes."

"Nice try, girl," Rallo said, "we know you aren't a genie-"

"GOOD." Augustus shouted with relief. "My first wish is to get these Candy Virus fragments out of my body!"

"I thought I sensed something weird in your bloodstream. Very well." Zeira put her spoon inside a pot of purple sugar, then waved it around as it glittered. "For the big, rude man, your wish is my command!" She whooshed the sugar over Augustus, who coughed.

The teen stared at both sides of his hands. He balled his fists and tried to channel his willpower. "It didn't work, I still can't use Haki!"

"It DID work, I'm not sensing the candied cells in your blood, anymore." Zeira stated. "Your stomach, though…"

"Perhaps the Haki needs to return to you naturally." Aisling said. "You may have to learn it all over again…"

"My ass, I have to. Whatever, Wish Number 2: There's a really big guy outside. He's a giant crocodile, but he's a total softy. I'd like to take him with us, but… sigh, it would just be really difficult. Do you think you guys can give him a home here, so we know where to find him 'case we need him?"

"I guess I'll make room. Okay, you have one wish left. What is it?"

Augustus smirked. "I wish my _Ace Flyer_ plane would materialize beside me."

Zeira whirled her purple sugar and threw it into a POOF, and a hideous, broken-down two-person plane appeared. "Uhhhh…" Augustus tried to find the words. "Not the greatest teleport spell…"

"For your information, my teleporting's spot-on!" Zeira flushed. "…Mostly. Anyway, your plane was probably already like this. Where did you last park it, on a freeway?"

"…On Licorice's ship." Augustus sighed. "I guess they would go kinda agro on it. Too bad I can't wish it fixed."

"Zeira, I also came here because I wanted to ask you a few things." Aisling spoke up. "The Lost Candies happened to be one of them. You were planning to bring them together… weren't you?"

"I tried, but Lord Licorice's men have been securing most of them, and now they have the Sun Cream, too. They're making certain that we can't collect them."

"I feared as much… Well, are you still planning to come to Mavis's tea party?"

"Sure I am! !" Zeira flailed her chibi arms happily. "Mavis makes the yummiest tea! But Aisling, I want you to help these humans for a little longer. Humans, I'll do you one more favor. I'll warp you to the location of one of the Lost Candies. Specifically, the Rock Nut."

"Rock Nut? !" Augustus jumped. "According to Luviro's story, that was the first candy ever created on Earth! It's old as time itself."

"That would be accurate. That's why I'll send you all to the only place you can find it. I'll also send Aisling along so she can help bring you back."

"Why would we need her for that, exactly?"

"You'll see." Zeira waved her ladle of purple sugar. "Thanks for fighting the monsters for us. We should be able to take care of Azula while she's like this, so don't worry. Happy travels." She threw the sugar over the Marzipans, Aisling, and the airplane.

When the sugar cleared away from their vision, they found their selves on a solid ground between two large stone mounds. "…Um… She said she'd send us to the location." Rallo said as they all shared his baffled expression. "But did she say _when_?"

Raptors raced across the near-barren landscape, pterodactyls soared in the sky, and a T-rex managed to snatch an unsuspecting raptor in its teeth. "You think there's a chance we can hitch a ride on Dinosaur Train?" Augustus asked.

 **Negaverse; Sector -W7 Treehouse (-8:00ma)**

The news about Sipa and Lucifer's supposed wedding spread quickly, and everyone was feeling either excited or worried. When Nega-Sector W7 heard the news, Asia, the black-winged Nimbi obsessed with cleanliness, offered to help Sipa prepare. "Okay, Sipa, I'm done putting it on." Asia said to her friend. "You like it?"

Sipa stared at herself in a mirror: she was clothed in a black wedding gown, in which the collar had devil horns attached. Sipa turned and stared at all sides of her. "I look like a real Demon Princess! Oh, Asia, I'm so happy my dreams are coming true! Marrying a real Demon Saint, I'll have a position of power in the Underworld! Maybe one day, I can shed this mortal skin and become a true demon!"

"Sipa, you were always kind of messed up in the past, but… is this really what you want? Giving up your entire free will to some monster? Do you even _love_ Lucifer?"

"HA ha ha! Are-Har you kidding, Asia?" Sipa chuckled, sporting a forced cheerful grin. "Of course I love Lucifer! A disciple; nay, a son, of Lord Satan himself. I could just feel the evil radiating from his soul! I can only imagine what he'll do to me. How my soul is going to look after he's finished sucking it. Maybe I'll change into a dementor, and lose all my feelings, and-"

"Are you even LISTENING to yourself? !" Asia's shout startled Sipa, but the latter still bore a vibrant expression. "I sewed a dress and helped you get it on, but I can NOT understand how a girl is so okay with DESTROYING herself! Do you really value Satanism more than your own existence? ! Do you honestly want to do this? Sipa, look at me and say, with utmost truth, you want to marry Lucifer."

Sipa looked at her, her eyes still wide and her mouth a grin. Asia saw the bags under her eyes. The aching feeling at the corners of her forced smile, the deep fear and doubt in her dark eyes. Asia, a person who didn't tend to notice things well, sensed these things clearly. "…I don't." Sipa frowned, and Asia felt the truth in her voice. "I'm afraid… Asia… I really don't think… I want to do this."

"So why _are_ you? Is that Medusa lady forcing you to?"

"N-No… Er… I mean… I don't know!" Sipa fell to her knees. "I thought I could help the Demon Saints by doing this. I thought… this _fear_ in my heart was what I was seeking. I've…I've been afraid of the Underworld for weeks. I don't know why I began feeling this way, but I hate this feeling! I really hate…" Tears began to form. "Isn't this despair, and this hate… what our world is made from? Shouldn't I… wish to feel this way?"

"Sipa… I think you're completely confused. Your grandpa forced you to worship Satan, so you grew up thinking it was the correct path. I think that, deep down… you really don't want to do any of it, anymore. You're afraid of disappearing. You don't want this."

Sipa clasped Asia's baggy pants and pulled herself to them, soaking the clothing with her tears. " _I'm really scared, Asia._ I want to back out of it, but I dunno…"

"No, no, it's okay." Asia smiled and patted Sipa's hair. "It hasn't begun, yet. You don't have to do it. You don't have to do anything they say."

"Then… sniff." She looked up at Asia's eyes. "Whaddo I do?"

"We'll go up there… and tell them to call this off. We'll send the memo to every other DNK sector, and get them all to protect you if those monsters try anything."

"Why would the other sectors wanna help me? Why would they… care?"

"…" Asia thought for a minute. "I don't know. I just… feel like they will."

 **Night Castle**

Ragus fed her new toy a plastic bottle of milk. Ragus couldn't decide what animal skin to sew on the lifeless puppet… In the end, she chose to make him a platy-pony-cardinal-lion-iguana-froad. The result was too hideous and too hard to remember to want to describe. Ragus already forgot the original name of this person… so now its name was Nosrednug.

"…It was my father's fault that our house burned down. He lit up too many Christmas decorations. It's his fault I died. Even though he tried to save me… I'm still angry at him. But it doesn't bother me. Because Lady Medusa said she would kill him after this wedding. I can't wait for that. …" Ragus looked at the ceiling. "It's sure to begin soon. Whatever force is causing everyone to forget you… I hope it lasts for just a few more hours. …I guess I'll go back up there."

* * *

 **Zeira is from _Fairy Tail_ , and her appearance in this story is a setup for a possible _Fairy Sisters_ sequel. See you for the wedding.**


	11. Broken Soul

**My step-grandpa died a few nights ago. May he rest in peace. …Anyway, this comes after Chapter 17, so if you're confused by this chapter's events, skim through that as a reminder.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 11: Broken Soul_**

 ** _Boogey Bay_**

Two Moblins carried Azula by the arms and brought her into Mandy's dark cabin. The Fire Princess was still sniffling and crying; she had run out of tears, and her yellow eyes looked dehydrated. "Azula, what in Hell's name has gotten into you?" Mandy asked.

"She accidentally killed a Sugar Fairy when she aimed for Augustus." one of the impish Flare Dancers replied in its high, hoarse voice. "I guess that legend about them is true. They really do force you to cry!"

"Hmmm…" Mandy reached under Azula's chin to make her face up. She studied her drying eyes. "Some kind of post-mortem spell, huh? Well, maybe this will cure it." Her eyes lit with fear, and Azula reacted to the Scare Stare.

 _A seven-year-old Azula stood before her towering father, flames burning behind him. He smacked Azula for failing her lessons. Mai and Ty Lee betrayed her because they loved Zuko more. Her servants and soldiers betrayed her. She was renowned as the worst Fire Lord…_

Azula was now shivering from imaginary cold, her eyes remained forced open wide. "Take off her armor, and bring her something to drink." Mandy ordered.

The Moblins sat Azula on a bed and tore off her black armor. She only had a black bra and underpants underneath. There were scars around her body. "You took more than your current body heat would allow." Mandy deduced as she poured some wine down Azula's throat. "One of your biggest fears was imperfection… so you desperately seek to become Logia, a perfect firebender. That's one of the things I liked best about you." Mandy gestured with her hand for the other demons to leave. They obeyed and shut the door, making the cabin darker.

She had Azula lie down on the bed, rolled away from the captain as she quivered. "Your actions were reckless, but necessary, of course. Becoming a Logia means risking your life in your own element. If you'd digested just a bit more violet flames, you might have made it. Or… maybe you wouldn't have. Perhaps we'll find out in time." Mandy shrugged.

"Are you about through wasting _our_ time?" Lord Licorice questioned, walking out of the darkness.

"Well, for a minute, I was wondering if you were actually _helping_." Mandy turned to him while drinking some rum.

"The Sugar Fairy Kingdom is just within our grasp! We can easily overpower those puny and pathetic creatures, destroy the core of their sugar, and secure both the Forest _and_ Sugar Fairy Princesses."

"The Flare Dancers told me that the Sugar Fairy warped the Forest Fairy and the Marzipans away. Storming their kingdom won't do me any favors."

"I _said_ , we could _destroy_ , their SUGAR Fuel!" Lord Licorice spoke insistently, stomping closer to Mandy with each emphasized word.

"You SAID you would give me the FOREST Fairy!" Mandy said with a deadly glare, inches from Licorice's face. "You said that with Princess Aisling's powers over life, I could become my own Grim Reaper! I could bring to life all the world's evil pirates and force them to my whim! So unless your promises hold true to their word, I could care less about demolishing a silly fairytale kingdom!"

Lord Licorice gritted his teeth, drawing his gun to aim it at Mandy. " _I_ … am The King's _apprentice_. I, the most _humble_ and generous Lord Licorice, am allowing you pirates to have fun. I can apprehend you now and _haul_ you to Mariejoa… but I'm not. And all I'm asking of you… is to _burn_ those wretched Sugar Fairies to ash."

Mandy moved her glaring eyes closer to Licorice, who calmly backed up in fear. "The Grim Reaper told me… who The King is… and I have to wonder… Are you really not arresting me out of generosity? Or is it because… _I'm a McKenzie_?"

A sweatdrop trickled down Licorice's face. The gun trembled in his hand as he took small steps back. "The ultimate flaw…" Mandy spoke again, "with rulers and officials alike… is that they always show bias… for the ones _they hold dear_."

"…" Licorice sighed and regained his composure. He put his gun away and prepared to leave the cabin. As he stood in the doorway, he turned to Mandy and said, "His Majesty may have that flaw… but you're only alive because I allow it. Consider that my gift… _as your best friend_." He shut the door and was gone.

 **Posiverse Earth; about 195 million years ago**

"Holy Mother of Monkey Milk!" Augustus gaped at the prehistoric sight before them. "Mother freaking Jurassic Park!"

"WHATCHU GAWKIN' AT? !" Rallo shouted with fear. "That big thing just ate that little thing! We don't watch our asses, we'll get our things ate, too!"

"I'm astonished that Zeira can _use_ time-travel magic." Aisling said. "So these were the creatures that roamed Earth in ancient times."

"How the hell are we supposed to find the Rock Nut in this mess? !" Stewie asked angrily. "Lick every rock until we find one that's-"

"STEWIE, STEWIE." Augustus interrupted. "I am not… even gonna let you finish that sentence. I just… saw where you were goin', and I am like NO. You need to level down with those jokes."

 _"Aaaahhh-AAAAAAaaaaahhhh!"_

"Whuh was that?" Rallo asked.

"Over there!" Aisling pointed.

Not far away, a group of raptors were chasing something small across the plain. "AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" This creature, running on all fours, was a cavegirl, with messy cyan hair and big hazel eyes, wearing a green loincloth dress and a cracked skull mask on her head. She also had a reddish-purple line painted horizontally across her face.

"Hold on, kid!" Augustus grabbed his Gobstopper and rushed over, the Baby Trio joining.

"Wait, we're in the past!" Aisling yelled after. "We shouldn't interfere… Oh, who am I kidding. _GROWL!"_ She bared her fangs and pranced on all fours.

The little cavegirl looked back at the raptors with fear in her adorable hazel eyes. She stopped and stared when something small and spherical struck a raptor's jaws. It had been thrown by a taller Neanderthal, whose clothes didn't look like any she recognized. Rallo blasted his boombox to blow another raptor away, and Stewie fired a net gun to catch another and shock it. Aisling tackled the fourth raptor and sank her teeth into its flesh. When the first raptor tried to help its friends, Augustus tackled and began to wrestle it.

"Tell this to all your amigos, the future belongs to HOMO sapiens!" the Spanish-German declared.

"NOOOOO!" The cavegirl pounced on Augustus's back and began pounding his head like an angry child. "Get off of Nel's frieeeeeeends!"

"Wha-… Friends?" Augustus looked at the raptor confusedly.

"Nel and dinos were playing 'Catch Nel'! You ruined Nel and dinos' game! Go awaaaaaay!" She cried and continued pounding the teen boy.

"Are you really her friends?" Aisling asked the raptor she was biting.

 _Yes. And you're a weird-looking baby jaguar._ The raptor replied telepathically.

Aisling calmly climbed off the creature, and the other ones recovered and showed no signs of vengeance. "Uh… Sorry." Augustus said to the cavegirl clutching his shoulders. "We're not familiar with… old timey games."

The girl jumped off. "Nel invents game herself. Other cavepeople think Nel crazy, but Nel think… oh?" She stared at him. "Why does caveman know Nel's language?"

Aisling gasped. "You can speak English?"

"English? English is Nel's language!" she shouted. "Only Nel speak English. Nel know English well, because only Nel know English. So why other cavemen know English?"

"Because we're from the future!" Augustus yelled.

"Futur? What Futur? Nel confused." The girl picked her nose.

"Hold on, if she can speak English, perhaps she may be able to help us." Stewie said as he approached the cave child, who was nearly his height. "Miss, do you know anything about a Rock Nut?"

"What weird caveman is this?" Nel touched either side of Stewie's football head. "His head funny. Hee hee hee hee!" She rocked the head back and forth. "Look like funny rock!"

"Shyeah, but you should see Rallo without his afro!" Augustus laughed.

"NO, DON'T!" Rallo cried. "You tell this girl, she gonna tell everyone, then all o' HISTORY'S gonna be laughin' at me!"

"Nel like new cavepeople." Nel clapped happily. "Nel think people funny. People be friends with Nel?"

"Eh, why not?" August shrugged. "I'm opening a babysitting service after this."

"Yaaay!" She clapped. "New friends for Nel! New friends come to Nel's cave?"

"Sure, we wouldn't mind a place to rest! (Even though we kinda just got out of a cave.) Hey, can your raptor friends help us pull our plane?"

"You want pull plain?"

"Y-Yeah—I mean… just come see."

The group led Nel and her raptors to the broken-down _Ace Flyer_. "This plain?" Nel began to climb it. "This smallest plain Nel ever see. It look like hard rock. Whoa!" She fell headfirst into the pilot's seat, with her dirty feet flailing in the air.

"It's not a plain like a field." Augustus said as he grabbed Nel's feet and pulled her up. "It's like… a magic stone that we have and lets us fly."

"It stone? It shaped like pterodactyl. Can Nel fly stone plane?"

"Heh heh… It's not in best shape right now. Just help us pull it to your cave."

They traveled a few miles across the field before they arrived at Nel's cave. She had a few clothes hanging on the wall, so Augustus threw one of them over the biplane. "Here, Nel friends." Nel carried two armfuls of rocks over to them. "Nel bring rocks. Nel hopes friends like." She dropped them all. …Nel felt pain course through her. "YAAAAAAAH!" She grabbed the stubbed toes and hopped around.

"Calm down." Aisling crouched down and softly rubbed the sore toes. "You should be more careful."

"Can you actually eat these rocks?" Augustus asked curiously.

"Huh? Cavepeople always eat rocks. Well, rocks too big for Nel. She break into pebbles." Nel stood up and picked up one of the heavy rocks. "Mmm, mmm," she hopped to a wall, "MMM!" and chucked the rock to break it to pieces. "Pebbles yummy! Mmmmmm!" Nel picked some up and began chewing.

"Yeah… I don't eat those." Augustus replied with disgust. "See if you like this." He pulled out a Gold Wonka Bar and handed it to the girl.

Nel stared at the chocolate as though it was the weirdest thing ever. Nel put her teeth around the bar and bit a piece. It was so much softer than pebbles, it felt like her teeth were munching nothing. She swallowed. "Mmmmmm…" Nel bore the expression of someone in Caveperson Heaven. "Nel feels a happy feeling on her toooooongue. Why is Nel tongue happy? Bllllll?" She stuck her tongue out.

"That, my soil-footed friend…" Augustus bent down with a knowledgeable smile, "was called taste."

"Taste?" Nel grabbed her tongue and tried to pull it up in front of her eyes. _"Nel don't thee it."_

"It isn't something you _see_. It's something you _feel_." The captain started a new lollipop. "It's a mouthwatering feeling that outright says: if you eat this, your belly will be happy. The ability to taste was God's greatest gift to man. If something tastes good, you swallow it."

"You are setting, a _very_ bad example in this case." Aisling said.

"Nel like 'taste.' Nel never taste before. Except pretty rock on Terry mountain. Haaaa-omp." She bit another piece of chocolate.

"A pretty rock?" This caught the teen's attention. "What rock?"

Nel swallowed, and she spoke with chocolate around her mouth. "Nel climb to top of Terry mountain and find pretty rock. Nel try to break, but it don't. Nel tried to eat, but too big. But when Nel tongue touch it, tongue feel happy. Nel think this 'taste.'"

"It must be the Rock Nut!" Aisling beamed.

"Nel, can you take us to Terry Mountain?" Augustus asked.

"Mmmm…" Nel frowned. "Terry mountain belong to Terry. Nel climb when Terry gone because Nel wanted to see what up there. Does Nel friends want Terry's tasty rock?"

"If it's what we think it is, it's imperative that we collect it." Aisling said.

"But Terry scary!" Nel exclaimed. "Terry eat Nel friends! Nel don't want friends to die!"

"I assume this 'Terry' is a pterodactyl." Aisling replied. "An animal all the same. If I got close to her, I can communicate and reason with her."

"Hee hee hee! Terry not her. Terry a male."

"My mistake."

"And even if she can't, we can take him." Augustus fist-palmed. "Listen, Nel, we really need that Rock Nut, not for us, but for a friend of mine. He's a, uh… caveman who can't leave his cave, and he's gonna die soon. All he really wants is to taste that rock. So, will you take us?"

"Sniff…" Nel's adorable eyes began watering. "Th-That saddest story… Nel ever hear! WAAAAAAAHHH!" She made a waterfall of tears that the others looked at with disbelief. She calmed down and spoke with a stutter, "N-Nel h-help friends find r-rock. J-Just promise Nel f-friends will be careful."

"You got nothin' to worry about!" Augustus lifted the cavegirl up over his shoulders. "Just point us the way!"

"Ha ha ha ha!" Nel swung her feet happily. "Nel gets to ride funny caveman!" She smacked his head and pointed vigorously, "RIDE, AUGHSUCKS!"

The captain's motivation sunk at that name. "It's… Augustus."

"Nel said Aughsucks! Go, Aughsucks!"

His eye twitched. "Well-p, the past is ruined."

 **Negaverse; DNK Moonbase**

It was -11:55ma. Every DNK sector had gathered in the audience chamber, viewing the stage where Medusa, Ragus, and Lucifer stood. The massive chamber was filled with a dead silence, and everyone was impatiently waiting for the bride to make her appearance. _"She's just gonna turn it down, right?"_ Yllas whispered to her teammates.

 _"Shhh!"_ Ynohtna hushed her.

"Lady Medusa, my father will be killed after this, right?" Ragus asked her mistress.

"Sooner than you think." Medusa smirked. "I sent Pandora and Thanatos down to Asorsserd to do the deed. Hope that gives you something to look forward to."

"It does, My Lady. …Oh! The bride is coming."

The right stage door opened as Sipa walked in with Asia at her side. She looked both pretty and scary in her black dress, holding a bouquet of dead grey flowers. They stopped three feet from Lucifer, who still possessed a black desert wolf. Sipa's expression was morbid. _"My bride…"_ The demon hissed. _"You look beautiful…"_

"A girl needs time to prepare, even in this world…" Medusa commented. "But better late than never. In three more minutes, I will join you two in _eternal_ matrimony. If either of you have vows, you had better speak now."

"I have a few things to say…" Sipa spoke lowly. "Ever since I was little… my deepest dream was to burn my mortal soul and become a small piece of the Underworld's darkness. And with every sin I commit… I felt my soul steadily decaying away." It was -11:59. Everybody's hearts were racing from the tension. "And now… when I'm only a couple words away… from losing myself completely… to a demon as renowned and… feared as you…"

Lucifer hissed through his grinning, drooling fangs. Sipa's lovely dark form reflected in his glowing red pupils. She looked so… delicious…

"…I realize…" Sipa resumed, "…that all I really want, more than anything… is…"

Ragus let the lifeless doll dangle in her hand. The soul which this doll was inhabiting was asleep. The person inside was no longer what he used to be, but a hideous amalgamation of Ragus's creation.

. . . . The motionless toy shone, and its distorted body began to wobble. The froad and cat legs transformed into human legs in purple pants, the fish fin and octopus tentacle became human arms and hands, and the platypus nose retracted. Whatever this creature was, it became a brown-haired boy with sunglasses and dark-yellow eyes.

The minute the clock struck -12, it felt as though a light went off in everyone's minds. Suddenly, they had weird memories of an alliance with the Nimbi DNK, how their acronym stood for the "Daring New Kids", and some hogwash about a "happier" Negaverse where everyone's nice to each other. And all these ideas were because of one boy whom they clearly remembered as their Supreme Leader.

"NEREHC! !" Sipa screeched after her moment of awestruck silence.

 _"What? !"_ Lucifer shouted.

"Ragus, what's going on? !" Medusa shouted.

"I'm as confused as you are, Lady Medusa!" Ragus replied with her still smile and tone. "Out of the blue, I seem to have memory of Nosrednug's real identity!"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Sipa whipped out her Devil's Wand and struck Lucifer.

 _"UOOOH!"_ The black wolf died, and the dark energy left its body.

"YOU!" Sipa aimed the wand at Medusa's possessed body. "LET NEREHC GO!"

"Better do what she says!" Sicnarf ordered as a troupe of guards trained their weapons on the goddess.

Before Medusa knew it, the whole of the DNK audience were scurrying down the stairs and jumping on stage, surrounding her and Ragus from every direction. "Grrr. This isn't what was supposed to happen!" Medusa growled. "If it'd just been another minute, I would've had everything I needed to…"

"LOOK!" Ikuyim pointed excitedly. "That girl's holding a Nerehc doll! I bet the real Nerehc's trapped inside it!"

"Accio DOLL!" Sipa aimed her wand, and the Nerehc doll flew into her hand. "NEREHC!" She shook it frantically. "Are you in there? ! PLEASE WAKE UP!"

 **Night Castle**

"Damn it! I have to get out of this place!" Nerehc stated impatiently, trying to stomp Ragus's sleeping body. However, his foot phased through her like she were a ghost. "How do I wake this chick up? !"

"I'm not _sure_ if it will work," Mr. Penguin said, "but since we're in a Dream Realm, you might wake up if you die."

"Hey, you're right!" Nerehc drew his sword and aimed it at his chest. …He hesitated for a second. "Sure hope this _works_!" He shut his eyes and slowly moved the sword's tip to poke his chest. … _Poke._

 **Moonbase**

"YAH!" The doll jumped out of Sipa's hand and on the stage floor.

"YEEK!" Ininap and Yddam were startled and grabbed each other. The operatives backed away in fear when the doll pushed itself up on its feet.

The doll's beady yellow eyes looked around at all the familiar faces. "Sipa! Sicnarf! Ydolem!" Nerehc's voice spoke happily. "You guys…" He skimmed their bodies up and down. He was only as high as their feet. "…are really tall."

"N-N-Nerehc…" Ininap crouched on all fours and crawled to her master like a curious puppy. "Y-You're a… doll?"

Nerehc looked at his stubby hands and the knees he had trouble balancing on. "Huh… So I am. Anybody have any idea how I got this way?"

"They're getting away!" Yddam yelled when Medusa opened a dark portal.

"Until next time, you fools!" Medusa pulled Ragus in with her.

"STOP!" Sipa grabbed the Nerehc doll and dove after them.

"AAAAH!" She, Ragus, and Medusa tumbled onto the floor of the first bridge, close to the hangar. "ENOUGH!" The Dark Goddess kicked Sipa off and got onto Nerehc's feet, drawing his sword and holding it to his neck. "Back away or I'll cut this boy's neck! I'm curious to see where Demise's spirit will go if he dies, anyway."

"Sipa, throw me on the sword!" Nerehc's doll yelled.

"Huh? Okay. NNNN!" Sipa hurled the little doll across the air, and his stubby arms wrapped around the Devil Sword's white blade.

"Huh?" Medusa stared confusedly at the doll. The way he hugged the sword was adorable…

"GHIRAHIM!" Nerehc called. The white sword flashed, and the diamond-skin Demon Lord leapt out.

"Yaaaaaawn." Ghirahim stretched his trim body. "It's about time I was called out. I was getting a little tired of everyone saying 'Who's Nerehc' all the time." He turned to said boy with a devious smile. "Still, my master… you have seen better days."

"You listen to ME, you hopeless servant." Medusa aimed the sword at him while the Nerehc doll was still hugging it. "The body I'm possessing is the one that houses Demise's soul. I am the one you answer to, not Nerehc!"

"Hmmm…" Ghirahim held a hand over his eyes, still smiling. "And so I'm faced with the conundrum… who do I listen to. It's true that the body Medusa is inhabiting is the one that bears Demise's energy… However, the body truly and officially belongs to Nerehc. The true one that has conquered both Devils and taken their power. Tell me, Medusa… could you defeat them?"

"You know this bitch couldn't!" the Nerehc doll yelled. "Just kick her ass so I can get my body back!"

"Don't even think about it!" Medusa smacked the doll off and held the sword to the body's neck. "It's true that I need Demise's powers to revive Ganondorf, but if they retreated inside Lehcar or one of her children, I can easily persuade them to work for me!"

Ghirahim zipped up to her, kneeling to her face level as he licked his lips. "But will _I_ … work for you?"

"Ouch! Ghirahim, you're standing on me!" The Nerehc doll squirmed under the demon's foot.

"There they are, they've over here!" Sicnarf and the operatives scurried onto the bridge to surround the villains.

"You're not going to get away!" Hcaz stated firmly. "You're overstepping your boundaries as a god. Ininap is praying to the other gods as we speak; they'll be here pretty soon and see what you're doing."

"Hm hm hm hm." Medusa chuckled, keeping the sword by Nerehc's neck. "You 'Daring New Kids' think you're so strong because of your loyalty and dedication to your leader. Nerehc may be leading you Negatives to a path of light… but this very path will destroy you! The Apocalypse will come at the end of this month, and your kind will never survive without MY assistance!"

"You…" Yddam's fists trembled, and a nervous sweatdrop trickled down her face. She was wearing her Fishman Karate gloves. "J-Just… what do you want?"

Medusa's snake green eyes looked at her, making Yddam step back in fright. "My child… don't you know who I am? I am Medusa. The Seeker of the Thirteen Darknesses. The one who is destined to unite the Darknesses, and help the Negatives to find and awaken them! Only _I_ know the identities and locations of each of the Darknesses. The universe will only be saved if they, along with the Seven Lights, are awakened. And the only way you can see for that to happen, is if you listen to _me_."

The Negatives stood silent with hesitation. Medusa could read their mixed expressions of anger and contemplation. They wanted to attack her for stealing Nerehc's body… but they also thought she could be right. They knew little about the Twenty Keys… so helping Medusa achieve her selfish gain may be their only chance of learning this knowledge.

The operatives looked at the smooshed Nerehc doll, who was back on his feet after Ghirahim got off. He slouched on one knee, but he faced up at Medusa. Even though his beady eyes showed no expression, Medusa could feel him glaring. "A god like you wouldn't even care about us… if the Apocalypse didn't affect you! !"

The operatives exchanged quiet murmurs. Medusa narrowed her eyes. "A Goddess of Evil would relish in our destruction!" Nerehc shouted. "The despair of trillions of souls, feeding her with power! The power to create her own era of darkness. The Apocalypse would be a buffet to you, but it's not! Because the gods are in danger of dying, too! This Apocalypse is more than just the destruction of all life. It's the destruction of anything and EVERYTHING we ever cared about! Isn't it?"

Medusa bit her (Nerehc's) teeth. If Ragus could make any other expression, it would be a quizzical frown. "That includes our existence." Nerehc spoke further through everyone's astonished murmurs. "Our souls, the gods." Even the former DNKG felt anxiety from this knowledge. "The best we know is that only a handful will survive if it happens. This 'Will of Sixes' that Cheren mentioned. But even those people won't understand a thing, even they won't know if they'll survive. …And you don't either. That's why you need us… don't you?"

All eyes were on Medusa, including Ragus's. The goddess looked at the floor with anger in her eyes. She stuck the sword into the floor and knelt down. "I…I'm really _not_ sure what's going to happen. I was told… that Palutena and I would clash at the end… and the winner would decide if the New World is controlled by Light or Darkness. It may be her influence getting to me… but I wonder… if this very prophecy is true. Can I really trust this… _Bill Cipher_."

The Negatives looked confused. They haven't heard that name before. And it was during this moment of confusion that the dark spirit lurking above seized his chance. Medusa glanced up and smirked, seeing him closing in.

"AAAAHH!" A dark energy seeped into Sipa's body, and the girl began squirming.

"Sipa, what's wrong? !" Nerehc ran up to his girlfriend.

 _"Given the horrid state your soul is in, I may not NEED to marry you to take over your body!"_ Lucifer's monstrous voice sounded.

"NO! STOP! Get out of me! Get out of my head! !"

"I'll help!" Ragus skipped up to Sipa and aimed her hand. "Sleep!"

Instantly, Sipa's eyes turned dull and shut as she fell on her back. "Sipa!" Nerehc jumped up on her chest to study her face. "Whaddid you do? !" he yelled at Ragus.

"I have the power to control souls." Ragus said with her creepy smile. "Even lay souls to rest. My powers may be limited to contracts… but dark or weak souls like Sipa or Lucifer's are within my limits. At this moment, they are fighting in Sipa's dreamscape. The winner will become the new owner of the body."

"Are you kidding? ! Sipa, wake up!" The doll smacked his girlfriend's cheek, but dealt no pain. "Don't let him control you, just wake up!"

"Even if she could hear you… Lucifer could easily overpower her, anyway." Ragus said. "If you were in there to help, the outcome may be different. I can use my power to transport your soul into Sipa's body, Nerehc. If you are able to save her, I will allow you back into your real body while Medusa leaves. However…" Her smile seemed to stretch wider. "If you are successful, then you must follow Lady Medusa's instructions from now on. You must listen to what she has to say."

"Mmmmnn… mmmmnn…" In her sleep, Sipa was biting her lip and sweating. Her body lightly shook from the struggle taking place inside her. Nerehc couldn't bear to see his girlfriend this way. He couldn't imagine how she may have been suffering. "We will." he said firmly.

"You can't be serious!" Ynohtna yelled. "Even if your reasonings are true, trusting someone as evil as Medusa is-"

"BUT." Nerehc spoke louder to make him silence. "You must only give us instructions, if those instructions will help us find the Thirteen Darknesses, and ONLY the Darknesses! If any of your instructions are irrelevant to the cause, whether it's burning a town or saving a puppy, the contract is off. Got it?"

"…It's a deal." Medusa smirked.

"Good. Now send me in."

"As you wish… Prince Nerehc." Ragus approached and used her power to remove Nerehc's soul from the doll. She placed him inside Sipa's head, and put him to sleep as well.

"I wish I could be a doll," Nosam Atnalamid spoke with heart-shaped eyes, "then my lovely Lorac will cuddle with me as she sleeps, as I keep her safe from nightmares. Miss Ragus, could you perhaps do me such an honor?"

"I kinda hope Sipa's head explodes from all this." Akurah remarked.

"Three souls fighting inside one body, something like that _would_ happen." Asia said. (Play "Hazardous Highway" from _Kingdom Hearts II_!)

 _Stage B-8: Death Highway_

 _Mission: Stop Lucifer from taking Sipa's soul._

Nerehc immediately found himself skating down a red, vertical road, whipping past black buildings on either side. The road curved up at the bottom, so Nerehc's rockets began to skate across a flat ground, and he gaped at the view of the horrific dimension. It was a black city suspended above a blood-red sky. There were giant gravestones with deathly skulls, and giant whitish-blue, ghostly flames. "THIS is Sipa's dreamscape? !" he questioned. "More like a nightmare-scape!"

Nerehc skied across the road that swooped down, up like a hill, then down again as his speed increased. At the bottom, Nerehc zipped up a ramp that flew him to a Spring Pad on a floating piece of rubble, which bounced him around a series of Spring Pads before he finally landed on a path within a part of the dark city. Piles of bones rose up and became Stalfos, which charged over to attack Nerehc. When one Stalfos jabbed its blade, Nerehc leapt overhead, swung his sword, and beheaded that Stalfos and the one behind it. He then stabbed them both from behind, and dodged the remaining one's sword. When the third Stalfos swung its blade down, Nerehc bashed it upward with his own sword before slicing the Stalfos across the chest.

Nerehc ran out of the alley and to the city square, where bone piles lay around a fountain of red water (to level down on grossness, he called it water). Each of these Stalfos sprouted to life, but Nerehc wouldn't bother fighting them. Instead, he jumped into the fountain's center, which propelled him up so he could collect a Fire Soul. Nerehc ran further down the street until some springs bounced him on top of the roofs. Fire Keese swooped around, but Nerehc cut each of them with one slice. He had view of the fountain square from this rooftop route, which would lead him to a grind rail. However, a gravestone blocked the rail's base, sending Phantom Embers (green flames with yellow eyes) at Nerehc. Nerehc cut through each Ember as he approached the grave, then cut it to pieces.

Nerehc boosted across the rail as it swirled down, then turned straight as it led him between floating buildings. He had to jump between two rails as parts of buildings blocked parts of them, but once out of the midair alley, the rail swerved around numerous floating structures. It dropped Nerehc on another red highway, and the boy skied ceaselessly when a gigantic spiked tire with rockets began chasing him. A spring bounced Nerehc to a parallel road, where he had view of the skull on the wheel's side. Another spring bounced him back on the road, so he kept running from the tire.

The Death Tire launched rockets that forced Nerehc to dodge left or right, and when he saw a bump coming up on the road, he had to jump. The tire was steadily catching up, but when Nerehc saw a smaller road that curved left, he seized the chance to take it while the wheel kept rolling the bigger road. Nerehc's road zipped up a hill, with springs that launched him to a series of floating platforms. Nerehc cut away the Red Bubbles that were mindlessly bouncing around, and at the end of these platforms, he used his rockets to glide over to another city area.

Redeads were positioned around the ground, and their high-pitched screams froze Nerehc in place. One of the zombies quickly limped over to begin choking the Demon Prince, who stabbed its head with his sword to get it off. Another Redead limped over, but Nerehc set his sword aflame and chopped it. There was a Fire Soul in a right corner past some Redeads, but not wanting to waste time with the zombies, he stayed close to the left wall to avoid them and go down a city street. Nerehc jumped up some boxes, then Wall Kicked his away across the parallel buildings to avoid the Redeads down below. Once past the zombies, the road turned left, leading to a wide dead-end alley with a well. Nerehc bypassed the Redeads before they could turn to face him, and jumped down the well.

He was suddenly grinding across another rail, inside a pitch-black interior where he couldn't see the way. Another rail appeared beside him, and when a gravestone popped up on his current rail, he jumped to the other, then switched back-and-forth when gravestones kept trying to surprise him. The rails brought him to a bigger underground graveyard, where Nerehc hopped across numerous rails, avoiding the stones popping up and the routes that would lead him into a death pit. He noticed a Fire Soul above a rail far to his right, having missed the route it led to. The last rail brought Nerehc through a tunnel, leading him outside as he skied across a lake of red water. He saw another Death Tire whoosh across a highway overhead. At the end of this lake, Nerehc bounced on some springs that would land him on a downward highway—just after the Death Tire sped down.

Nerehc was chasing the tire this time, and it made great distance ahead of him. The tire was dropping mines on the ground, but Nerehc could whip the bombs with his sword and fling them against the tire. At the bottom of this slope, Nerehc began to chase the tire across a wider road with many holes. Nerehc avoided the holes, but made sure to keep in position with the bombs so he could hit them against the tire. Once the tire sustained enough damage, it sped out of control and drove off the edge. Nerehc could now run through a city street at the end of the path—the entrance would've been blocked by the Death Tire if it were still active.

The city path was mostly straightforward except for a few crates Nerehc had to dodge. Once he was through, he arrived at a chasm area with giant skull torches that sprouted fire every few seconds. They were scattered around, so Nerehc jumped to the ones that were closer. The torches continued across the chasm as the path shifted left. Nerehc chopped down Red Bubbles that bounced over and threatened to ignite his torches. He made it to a wide area and jumped the torches to a far left corner so he could collect a Fire Soul. Afterwards, he jumped back and landed on a path on the left of the chasm.

The path directed up and around the wall above the giant torches. At every step, a gravestone releasing Phantom Embers blocked his way, so Nerehc chopped up each one. At the walkway's end, Nerehc skied into a tunnel, which brought him to a steep narrow slope. A spring bounced him to another highway, where he was chased by the first Death Tire again. He dodged two missiles and jumped three bumps before a spring bounced him to the other road, where he was behind the second Death Tire. It dropped bombs that Nerehc whacked with his sword, exploding them on the tire three times before it spun out of control. Nerehc ran onto a wider path, going around the spinning tire and running ahead of both. Nerehc looked back, and gaped when an enormous Ghost Rider flew down from the sky on a motorcycle. The cycle attached itself to both Death Tires and chased Nerehc.

Strips on the front tire caught fire and burned a trail toward Nerehc, so he dodged to a segment of road that wasn't burning. After a few easy dodges and jumping road bumps, the Ghost Rider's motorcycle boosted, the bike tilting back as the front wheel was uplifted. It smashed back down, but Nerehc was now underneath the bike, between both wheels. The bike was moving faster, threatening to smash Nerehc with the back wheel. Since the front was dropping bombs, he batted the bombs into the front to do damage. However, he allowed some bombs to pass and hit the back wheel, and soon, the rear wheel popped off its hinge. The slanted backside dragged along the ground and would burn Nerehc if it caught up. Nerehc hit more bombs into the front wheel until it blew off.

The Ghost Rider activated the bike's rockets and chased Nerehc from the air. He released rows of fireballs that singed spots on the road, forcing Nerehc to maneuver between the diagonal rows. Nerehc boosted to get away from the Rider, going into a city, and when the giant skeleton tried to maneuver down, his craft bumped along the buildings and exploded. His flaming skull flew off, munching loudly as it chased Nerehc, but the boy sped through a tunnel that the skull wouldn't fit into. The tongue was chasing Nerehc like a snake, so with a look of disbelief, Nerehc jumped back and pierced his sword through the limb. With that, he kept running through the city until he overlooked a near-vacant, floating field. (End song.)

Nerehc saw the back of a girl wearing a black dress, with dirty blonde hair. "Sipa!" he called, recognizing her. "Sipa, can you hear me? !"

 _"I'm afraid she can't…"_ Nerehc looked up at the source of the dark voice. His body was skinny and black, with boney feet and sharp claws. He had a cracked skull mask that looked like a demon's, with horns, and he slowly flapped down with black feathered wings. _"Her soul has gone past its limit…"_

Nerehc gasped. "Are you… Lucifer?"

 _"Yes. I am the Royal Demon Saint, who ate a piece of Sipa's soul long ago. And now… I will devour the rest and claim her body. Perhaps in a physical form… I can attain love…"_

Nerehc clenched his teeth with malice. "SIPA, SNAP OUT OF IT! Don't let him take you, run away!"

"…" Sipa slowly turned around. …The second her milky eyes faced Nerehc, broken areas with blood appeared on her body. Her left hand was missing, the front of her right foot was missing, the top left of her head… She looked less like a living, human being. "Sipa…"

 _"Has destroyed her soul with all of the sins she committed."_ Lucifer knelt down and softly grasped both of Sipa's arms. _"Any human with moderate intelligence can protect their soul from me… but she is more than susceptible. There is no saving a soul like hers… not unless she becomes one with a demon like me."_

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Nerehc blasted a jolt of lightning that struck Lucifer's head and knocked him back. Nerehc skied up to his girlfriend. "Sipa, he's wrong! It's not too late to save your soul! You asked me to repair it, didn't you? Well, I will! You just have to trust me!"

 _"It isn't a matter of trust!"_ Lucifer hissed. _"No amount of regret or repent can save this girl! She could not survive in Heaven OR Hell! She is doomed to fade away into nothing!"_

"Sipa… please talk to me." Nerehc grabbed the girl's right hand, staring directly at her eyes as his own leaked tears. "Say something! Anything!"

 _"Haaaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"_

Nerehc kept his eyes sharply opened, hoping to witness some response from Sipa. But his tears made this impossible. He sniffled and let his head sink. …Nerehc felt something wet and gooey touch his right hand. It was the bloody stub on Sipa's left arm. He looked up agape when Sipa leaned forward and put her head against his chest. "N…N…Nerehc…" Bloody tears leaked out of her eyes. "Please… save… me…"

"Sipa…" Nerehc put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up gently. He pressed his lips against hers. Sipa closed her eyes and allowed the embrace to transpire. The pain she was feeling in her soul felt weaker. The feeling she had lost when Nerehc went missing… she remembered what it was… the most beautiful feeling ever…

"What a _horrible_ touching moment." Malladus Uno's thundering voice spoke as the Demon King's torn-in-half spirit poked out of Nerehc's back. "Why don't I spare us all this display and heal her myself? I can bandage her soul, but the 'good deed' business will be up to her. It shouldn't be as hard as curing my wife's Candy Virus."

 _"YOU!"_ Lucifer shouted. _"Uncle… Malladus? !"_

"Oh, Lucifer!" Malladus looked up with a casual smile. "I almost forgot you were here. Now I told you not to sneak out of the house, didn't I?"

 _"Don't tell me… Is Father in there, too? !"_

"Oh, he's asleep right now. I'm afraid you'll have to talk to him another time."

 _"NOOOO! Father, COME OOOUUUT!"_ The Black Demon lunged at them. (Play "Vs. Malladus Part 2" from _Zelda: Spirit Tracks_.)

Nerehc slashed his blade lit with violet flames and blew Lucifer back. "Keep him busy while I treat this girl." Malladus said, sprinkling Sipa with a dark energy from his hand. Nerehc nodded and faced Lucifer with determination.

 _Boss fight: Lucifer_

The Demon Saint crawled up to Nerehc on arms and legs, and when the boy suspected him to attack, Lucifer rolled to Nerehc's right and SWIPED his claw, scratching the human's face and knocking him back. Lucifer coughed Dark Balls at the Malladus soul, but Nerehc batted them away with his sword. The Demon Saint flew overhead and coughed a rainbow of Dark Balls, which Nerehc bonked away with a vertical spin attack. Lucifer flew far away along the ground, circled around them, and coughed Dark Balls, but Nerehc stylishly batted each one away. Angered, Lucifer shot up at whipping speed and slashed his claw, but Nerehc ducked before stabbing Lucifer in the skull.

He pulled the sword out as Lucifer flapped away. He swung his wings and launched bladed black feathers, which Nerehc blocked. Lucifer spun vertically with his wings sticking up, flying at Nerehc to smash the boy to the ground with them. Bullet-speed, he zipped to the opposite side from Sipa, but Nerehc shot a jolt of lightning that pushed him back. Nerehc got to that side and rapidly swung his blade when Lucifer unleashed a storm of furious claw-swipes. When it stopped, Lucifer suddenly tornado-spun and whipped Nerehc away with his devil tail. The demon focused his sights on Sipa, but Nerehc kicked on his rockets and flew at him, pushing Lucifer away.

 _"Grrrr!"_ Lucifer grabbed Nerehc and smashed him to the ground, applying more pressure in the hopes of splattering him. Nerehc lit his sword on fire and cut the monster's arms, scaring him off so Nerehc could stand. Nerehc got up and swung his flaming sword to send fire waves, which Lucifer blocked with his wings. The wings caught fire so Lucy could launch the feather spears with extra power. Nerehc spun his sword to block some, but he got scratched and scorched, and his weak moment allowed Lucifer to fly up and grab him in his claw. _"I'll bite off every last ounce of flesh until I see my father again!"_

"Expelliarmus!" A spell blasted forth and sent the Demon Saint whirling away. Nerehc turned and gaped at the spell's caster: "SIPA!"

His girlfriend wore a proud smile as she aimed her wand, black bandages around the severed parts of her body. "Didn't take much time at all." Malladus said coolly. "You should've seen Amy's Candy Virus."

"Nerehc, let's kick this bastard out of here!"

"You got it!" The boy and girl stood side-by-side with their weapons ready. The Demon Saint spun around and released feather arrows in every direction, which rounded like missiles and closed in on the kids. "Protego!" Sipa projected a shield to protect them, while Nerehc whipped other feathers away with his sword. Lucifer landed, and with his wings in a straight horizontal position, Nerehc grabbed Sipa and flew skyward—the Demon Saint zipped across with bullet-speed, and would've skewered them with a successful attack had they not dodged. Nerehc spun like a drill and shot down to pierce Lucifer's back.

Nerehc and Sipa landed on the ground and readied for Lucifer's next attack. The Demon Saint stabbed his claws in the ground and sent a scratchy trail to his opponents. While it did nothing at first, a sudden energy shot out of the cracks and scratched them. Lucifer flew up, gripped both kids by the neck, and flipped upside-down as he hurled them back. When the Demon Saint flew at them again, whipping around to slice his devil tail across them, Sipa called, "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

A white slash whipped across the air and sliced Lucifer's tail clean off. Nerehc seized this chance to fly up and chop off Lucifer's right wing. With his left wing standing up, Lucifer spun like a wheel and began to saw around the field. Different parts of the ground stuck up at different heights, so Lucifer took cover on a higher one next to the kids'. Feather arrows shot down to them from every direction, and they only had a few seconds to block them. Nerehc jumped up to view his enemy, but quickly ducked when Lucifer slashed his wing.

Nerehc looked at his girlfriend and nodded. He lifted her up so she could aim her wand in Lucifer's direction and yell, "Reducto!" An explosion burst from the ground, so Nerehc grabbed his friend and flew up, hoping Lucifer was distracted by the blast. Suddenly, the Demon Saint zipped up above them and kicked them down, but Nerehc regained composure and set Sipa on the ground before flying up. Lucifer smirked and vanished in a blink, appearing below Nerehc and flying down to Sipa like a hawk. Sipa readied herself, but Nerehc merely warped in a Dark Portal beside his girlfriend. He thrusted his sword up and stabbed Lucifer's skull. (End song.)

Lucifer stopped completely, and the kids' hearts raced with anticipation. The demonic skull slowly cracked… it would crumble any second. _"…Heh heh heh. Killing me… is something that could only happen in dreams."_

The kids gasped when the skull broke, and the demon's dark soul began to ascend. _"Oh, well. Perhaps I'll find a different wife. I know we'll meet again soon. After all, Sipa still has my soul in her. It is with that soul that she can command a Devil's Wand. So she will be grateful. …Prince Nerehc…"_ The boy narrowed his eyes at his own name. _"Medusa has already interacted with the Darknesses in the past. According to her, they come from the Original Worlds. I do not know what she wants your people to do… but I look forward to watching."_

 **DNK Moonbase**

"Uuuuuhhh…" Sipa moaned awake with a sickening feeling in her head. "Heehee… I guess I need to visit… the Soul Doctor, huh, Nerehc?" She grinned weakly and picked up the Nerehc doll on her chest. "…Nerehc?" She shook the doll lightly. "Nerehc, are you in there?"

"No. I'm over here." The Negatives directed their attention at the human boy. He had yellow eyes behind his sunglasses once again. "I guess Ragus switched me back after all?"

"Nah, Medusa ditched your body and left with her." Hcaz explained. "You fell like an old rag doll."

"She didn't even wait to see if I would save her? That sucks."

"To be fair, it was a -10% chance that you would." Arorua figured.

"Hey, I'm the Negative Fi here." Ghirahim remarked.

"So do we just wait around and wait for Medusa to give us instructions?" Atnort asked.

"That's the best I can think of. Wait, whaddo you mean 'we'?" Nerehc cocked his brow at the alien.

"Look, we were a little skeptical at first," Beewv said, "…but you're kinda starting to sell us with this Apocalypse business."

"And we figure we don't wanna be wiped off the plane of existence…" Avakam followed.

"Plus, we're surrounded by a bunch of people who like you anyway, so…" Atnort shrugged.

"We will consider ourselves your allies." Annaira sighed. "But I want the right to bloodbend someone every few hours!" The operatives glared at her. "…Once every day."

"So is Lucifer gone?" Asia asked.

"For now, it looks like. Hey, do any of you guys know what an Original World is?"

"Hey, look out there!" Ynohtna pointed at the glass wall.

The moon was glowing a mystic white. A small light rose out of its surface and floated close to the window. A beautiful, majestic white bird, with wings and a head shaped like crescent moons, materialized. "Oh, look! She received my call!" Ininap beamed.

"It's the Moon Goddess, Cresselia!" Ikuyim gaped.

 _"Sorry I'm late, Dialga and Palkia were arguing over trading cards… Did you children need something?"_ The crescent bird asked.

Nerehc gasped with realization. "Actually… you CAN tell us a few things!"

* * *

 **So I finally began my job working for Kroger. That means I'll have less time to update. With that in mind, enjoy every chapter I post from now on. Cresselia is from _Pokémon_ and Nel is from _Bleach_. Little fun fact, Terry was my grandpa's name, but the Terry in this story is from somewhere else. Total coincidence. XP Next time, we'll finish Wendy's mini-arc, and the Darkness Seeker Arc will be reaching its conclusion shortly. Later.**


	12. For the Second Time

**This chapter is the last one of the Darkness Seeker Arc. I sort of regret putting this Wendy level after the Lucifer fight, because I consider Lucifer the main boss of this arc, it's just it makes more sense for Wendy's level to come after considering the story. Alright, let's go. (Takes place before Chapter 19.)**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 12: For the Second Time_**

 **Floop's blimp**

Floop's blimp was designed like a green dinosaur head, whose eyes were wide and mouth shaped like an 'o'. There were fins on the sides that looked like the paws of cartoon dogs, and skinny metal legs with shoes hung from the bottom and ran in midair. The guestroom where Chelia, Wendy, the Ice Climbers, and Carla were staying had a round couch with cushions designed like hands. Wendy was nervous at the thought of them dragging her to a cold Underworld. The drinks in the refrigerator were set inside gaping mouths, and the planted palm trees had tongues for leaves. Wendy had never seen anything weirder than this man's mind.

"WOOOOOW!" Chelia gaped in adoration. "This is the weirdest thing I've ever SEEN!" She was holding Carla high. "You look like a kitty, but those wings make you look like a Nimbi! Are they actually real? ?" She tugged the wings.

"Ow! Yes, please, stop it!" Carla shook out of her grasp and fell to the floor.

"And you talk, too! Wendy, where did you find a thing like that?"

"I just found her egg washed up on a beach." Wendy answered. "I was pretty surprised, too. You've really never seen anything like her, Chelia?"

"No. Why, are there a lot of them where you come from?"

"N-…" Wendy processed that sentence. She never asked Facilier where she was actually born. "No. But…" She looked up at Chelia, "I kind of thought you would know. You just feel… _really_ similar to me."

"We do have a few things in common, don't we?" Chelia sat beside Wendy on the couch. "That reminds me, that was impressive airbending! I thought I had the tournament in the bag before you came along. And you weren't even using Haki or God Chi!"

"Chelia, what _is_ Haki and God Chi, anyway?"

"Hmhm, you probably wanna know the second one first." Chelia held her right hand open and spun a mini whirlwind. "It's called God Chi because it belongs to a god."

"But doesn't everyone get bending from a god?"

"Yes, but the gods actually have two forms of their own chi: a weaker, undeveloped form that they give to mortals for them to develop their selves… and a stronger form that the gods keep and allows them to maintain the balance in their own realm. The God of Airbending is Rayquaza."

"But how did you manage to get ahold of Rayquaza's chi?"

"Easy." Chelia winked. "I challenged him for it."

"And he actually agreed?" Carla inquired.

"Sure! …Well, it was more like this."

 _Chelia was 11 years old when she approached Sky Pillar on a terribly blustery day. She wore a pair of hiking boots and thick clothes, and had a mirror shield on her back. Through the raging dust-filled wind, she saw a giant, green armored snake flying above. "E-EXCUSE me! I've come to see the Sky God, Rayquaza." Chelia yelled at the snake._

 _"I am he."_

 _"My name's Chelia; Chelia Blendy. I'm an airbender—you probably know that, and I was reading an old book, and I read… If a bender can defeat the god in a one-on-one fair battle of their strength, the god has to give the bender a portion of their chi. I don't mean to sound conceded, but I'm a pretty great airbender, and I would love to become stronger."_

 _"You read correctly. If you can best me, you will earn a portion of my God Chi. If you lose, I take your bending away. The deal has been the same since the decision to grant benders their power. Do you accept?"_

 _"Yes, yes I do." Inside, Chelia's heart was racing nervously._

 _"Very well then… en garde!"_

 _Rayquaza lived up to his name, for his method of bending was unparalleled. The field became an endless hurricane as Chelia struggled to push against it using her supposed great bending, flown into the air when Rayquaza swooped down with momentum. Whirling around like a piece of paper in the wind, Chelia tried to compose and shield in an airball, until Rayquaza zoomed around her in his snakelike body and spun her dizzy. Chelia collided on the ground, not giving up, getting to her feet to throw gust after mighty gust. Rayquaza felt some slight breeze on his armor, but nothing more. He snaked around in the clouds to bunch them together, lightning striking the ground. Chelia frantically dodged these strikes, running in rapid circles to spin tornadoes to suck Rayquaza down, but the god flew down on his own and shot past Chelia fast enough to roll her on her back. Rayquaza was back for the rebound, before she could stand up, he blasted a solid air blast that sent her away farther, landing on her front._

 _Rayquaza ceased his onslaught and floated calmly before the struggling girl. She faced him with tears streaming her face. "Okay, you won, but PLEASE don't take my bending away! The kids where I live were teasing and saying I'd never be a good bender, so I wanted to become stronger to prove them otherwise, I'd never be able to show my face again if I go back without bending, PLEASE DON'T!" She bowed with deepest respect, tears hitting the ground._

 _"You should know better than to make bets beyond your knowledge. I'm hoping this lesson will teach you that."_

 _"No! NOOOOOO!" Chelia was utterly helpless, lost for strength or for hope as Rayquaza touched fingers to her head and chest, a white light shining. Chelia's eyes popped open, and grinning maniacally, "REVERSING MIRROR!"_

 _The shield on her back shone, Rayquaza knocked back as his energy suddenly dropped. Chelia stood up filled with pride and power, for an incredible wind blew inside. "Sky God's ROOOOAAAAAR!" She unleashed a powerful storm of wind from her lungs, solid as stone as Rayquaza was struck, injured, and sent flying back._

 _He collapsed onto the ground, unable to get up. "Heheh… I found this Reversing Mirror." Chelia blushed. "It rebounds or reverses the affects of any power. I challenged you to battle and lost so you'd try to take my chi, then I could take YOUR chi instead! Part of my strength is my keen intellect, eh he he."_

 _"Nnnn… you have deceived me, Child. Very… clever. You have earned the rights to… my God Chi."_

 _"All right! Great!" Chelia jumped with joy. "Thank you so much! This is the happiest day of my life!"_

"Then a few years later, I mastered Armament Haki." Chelia turned her right hand to an iron black, and the whirlwind turned the same color. "It's a martial art that's pretty common. It has to do with channeling your inner strength, but I won't bore you with a lesson."

"…Chelia… it sounds like you kind of stole it from him." Wendy said.

"Just what did you do with powers like that?" Carla asked with a reproving look. "Become a school bully? Tear down a village?"

"N-No, no, nothing like that!" Chelia said in a frantic fashion. "I really don't know why I wanted Rayquaza's power! I guess I just felt like challenging him… and I won."

"You cheated."

"I won with my brain." Chelia argued. "But since I got the power, I've been feeling really great. I almost never get exhausted because I never run out of breath. I enter contests at my school like the Triwizard Tournament or the Dragon Dances… I hate to gloat, but I'm a _really_ good dancer." She smiled. "They even put me in some magazines. …But I never do anything bad with my powers, honest."

"Yeah, but you sound like you're pretty competitive." Wendy said. "Just how many people have god powers to help them win things? It sounds kind of unfair…"

"Well, if I hadn't been in the picture, I'm sure you would've come around!" Chelia laughed. "You smoked everybody in that tournament. You would've been the best in any physical contest you entered."

Wendy blushed at this praise. "Thanks for saying that… but I'm not really that competitive. I get so nervous all the time and I just started learning magic recently."

"Well yeah, you're still young. …But now that I think about it, how come you're on the wanted posters?"

"I think it's because my dad is a wanted criminal. They probably think I'm just like him, or they wanna use me to catch him. And even worse, I have this curse that makes wind blow around wherever I am. It's better now because of these Chi Stabilizers, but I was homeless for years."

"That's really sad." Chelia frowned. "You really don't seem like a bad person, Wendy."

"Thanks. Neither do you. …" Wendy stared at her Lamia Scale wand reflectively. She then reached in her pocket and pulled out a blank piece of paper. She didn't need to read it to memorize what it said.

 _Observation: Floop has numerous children acting on his television program. These children are named and credited, but they are not known to act on any other show. The show's website does not provide information on their origins, and no person anywhere that recognizes their names has been found, nor are they known._

 _Conclusion: The World Government has accordings with unknown orphanages, who deliver children to Floop to work against their will._

 _Mission: Rescue the children and destroy Floop's castle._

 _"You can't possibly expect Wendy to do all that herself!" Carla said angrily._

 _"I don't!" Facilier argued in a low voice, so none of the townspeople would hear. "Her daddy did, I told him it was too risky, but he insisted!"_

 _"Well, do_ you _have anything to help us?"_

 _"Yes…" Facilier reached under his jacket. "Assuming he's right and Floop is keeping children hostage, you can rescue them with this." He pulled out a small satchel, reached in, and extracted a blue treasure chest with a star._

 _"What's that?" Wendy asked as the box was handed to her._

 _"This box is connected to a bigger box in my sister's basement. Use the Shrink Spell, Reducio, to minimize the kids and put them in here. They'll warp to that other box at normal size. You can use it to get away yourself, too."_

 _"What about destroying the castle?"_

 _The doctor sighed. "Honestly… I really don't know if you're up for that. If all else fails, just come home."_

"Hey, Chelia?" Wendy turned to the older girl. "Do you watch Floop's show? What's it about?"

"Oh, it's just a silly kids' show about random kids talking to random monsters (guys in costumes), and they get into random situations." Chelia explained while brushing the air with her hand. She clearly wasn't speaking highly about it. "There's not really a continuity and character development is little kid quality."

"How come you wanted to visit his castle?"

"Some of the fillers have a fancy stage where kids dance." Chelia spoke with a more positive tone. "I thought if Floop saw how I danced, he'd let me on the show and I would be a star! !" Her blue eyes became stars. She then gasped, "OOO, we should do a dance together, Wendy! He might let both of us on!"

"What about the children who already work for him?" Carla inquired. "Do you know how he picks them off?"

"Uhhh… not really. Well, maybe he'll tell us if we ask!" Chelia grinned.

"Wendy, look!" Sonny and Donna bounced over and opened their coats: dynamites and guns were strapped on the inside.

"We stuffed our coats full of things that go boom!" Donna cheered.

"We looked up demolition websites and know exactly where to plant them!" Sonny followed.

 _"We're gonna make Floop a REAL star!"_ The twins' devilish eyes became stars.

 _"You guys, shhhhh!"_ Wendy jumped over and gestured them to hush. _"We're supposed to keep it a secret!"_

"Wendy, is something wrong?" Chelia asked.

"Eek!" Wendy flinched and turned around, sweating with anxiety. "Hehehehe, they're just kidding, we're not planning anything, hahahahaha!"

"Hm hm hm! Who are those kids, anyway, your cousins?"

"No, they're… Well, I dunno what they're for."

 _"Comic relief."_ They chorused.

 **Negaverse; DNK Moonbase**

 _"Is this true?"_ the majestic moon bird, Cresselia asked with an echoing voice. _"Medusa was causing chaos in this world? Using your body as a disguise?"_

"My cousin feels terribly violated!" Ynohtna shouted. "He's going to need therapy, stitches, and all that stuff that's awesome in this universe! Ahh!" Nerehc kicked him away.

"Listen, Moon Chick, you know about the Apocalypse that's coming up this month, right?" Nerehc asked the spirit rudely.

 _"Oh… You are aware."_

"Yeah, I have a couple questions: first, when did you gods plan to tell us about something like this?"

 _"Hmmm… It was our intention, but we didn't know the correct time. The Apocalypse is beyond the gods' control. We did not know when, or even if, the Twenty Keys Prophecy would be unveiled by some other means. Even Dialga did not know… and it resulted in many fights between him and Palkia. And guess who had to work THOSE out. Me. Perhaps we were mistaken, keeping the secret. With only a month until it is time, we wonder if the prophecy will still transpire."_

"I was told about the prophecy from a person called Sanula. Said he comes from the First Dimension. He said that the Apocalypse would happen when the Space Gate crumbles apart in someplace called the Netherverse, and then the moons would explode. Would the Moon Goddess know anything about that?"

 _"Yes. She would. I created the moons as the primary locks and gateways leading into the Netherverse. I regulate the supernatural energy projected by the moons. But Palkia's powers are stronger than mine, so if his Space Gate explodes, my moons will not withhold. Children, I'm sorry I do not have more knowledge to divulge unto you regarding this matter. But I promise to inform the other gods of Medusa's-"_

"Before you do," Nerehc intervened, "know that we've already accepted her help. She seems very knowledgeable on the Thirteen Darknesses, so we have no choice but to rely on her guidance."

 _"Do not let her deceive you. True, Medusa has this knowledge, but she-"_

"-Feels like the only god who hangs with us more than any other god in this world. I hate to say it, but in the Negaverse, rules are a little backwards. Medusa might get in trouble for messing with people in the Posiverse, but in here, she can do whatever she wants. …Not that we would let her, of course. Only until we find the Darknesses."

 _"…The tides are truly changing. In a time like this, even I'm not sure if ancient rules still matter. Perhaps this was part of the prophecy. But I strongly caution you, children."_

"Got it. One last question, Moon Chick: what are the Original Worlds?"

 _"The Original Worlds are dimensions that are said to have been created long before this one. Even we have never seen them, for they were designed by other gods. We have always believed that Arceus – or perhaps a different deity entirely – designed this world based on fragments from those Original ones. We called this phenomenon the Dimensional Fusion. People, locations, energies in this world have an original parallel from those worlds."_

"Did they come before the 'First Dimension'? Or after?"

 _"The First Dimension is so named because Arceus created it before this world, or any of the others under his eye. However, even we do not know when the Original Worlds were born. We do not know if Arceus was the ultimate creator or not."_

"Even the gods don't know…" Nerehc mumbled softly. "…Do you know if there's any way to get to those worlds?"

 _"30 years ago… one man has. Dialga and Palkia sensed it through a series of tremendous rips through the Dimensional Byway. His name was Stanford Pines. I did not ask them how he did this."_

"A Positive, huh? …Well, thanks. You don't have to stay, anymore."

 _"The Tides of Time are changing, my children. Make sure your boat remains steady… or you will be destroyed."_ The goddess flew into a glowing white portal and vanished.

"…Do all these gods leave with a metaphor?" Nollid asked.

"So what are we going to do now, Master Nerehc?" Ininap asked.

"Hold on!" Sipa spoke up. "Before all this happened, weren't we bringing Egroeg and AlyakAm to the Posiverse?"

"Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about them. Are they even here?"

"We haven't seen them all since yesterday!" Alol answered in her perky attitude. "Probably blew us off like a couple-a airheads!"

"I wonder if they're meeting their Positives right now?" Nerehc said. "I guess we should go check on them."

"Maybe you should rest." Nollid suggested. "What with Medusa turning you into a toy and violating your body…"

"Huhuhu." Nerehc shuddered. "I wanna lie down just to get that idea out of my head."

"Sorry. I'll just fly to Dnaleci and make a portal to its Posiverse to look for them. Any of you guys wanna come?"

"Meeee!" Ikuyim jumped over to him. "I'd love to visit my Positive!"

"Alright, you guys go ahead and do that." Nerehc figured. "As for the rest of us… I guess there isn't much to do but wait for Medusa."

 **Posiverse; Foogly Mountain**

"Wendy, look! There it is!" Chelia pointed excitedly.

"Huh?" The red-eyed girl and her friends raced up to the window.

The blimp was flying over a steep, mountainous region, approaching a castle that was perched precariously on the side of a mountain. From far away, it looked like a group of stone needles, for its pale brown color matched that of the mountain. "It doesn't look luxurious." Carla said.

"I agree, it's a weird place to film a TV show." Chelia said. "Why do you think he set up here?"

"Duh, because he's an evil mastermind- _OOMP_!" Donna said, before Carla snapped her mouth shut.

A large hatch opened on the side of the castle's base, ready to allow the blimp inside. "Hold on, is the balloon even gonna fit in there? !" Wendy asked with worry.

Sonny gasped, "We've fallen for his trap! ! SAY YOUR PRAYERS!"

"NO, I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Wendy cried.

"Wait, Wendy! Look!" Chelia yelled.

A platform extracted from the hatch and allowed the blimp to land. The balloon and bottom legs retracted into the vessel before the platform pulled it inside the hatch. Everything turned darker as they felt their room pulling in further. Then, with a loud _CLANK_ , they stopped.

A faint light shone on the kids so they were able to see each other. They looked around in the darkness until Wendy spotted someone else under a spotlight. "It's Mr. Floop!" she exclaimed. They faced the backside of the man wearing the red velvet coat, sitting in the blimp's pilot seat. "Mr. Floop!" Wendy jogged over to him. "Is this part of your castle?"

The chair swerved around—Floop's eyes were bulging, his whole body puffed like a balloon, and POPPED. A small, mechanical device remained. "YEEEEK!" Wendy nearly fainted from shock. "Whaddid-I-do, whaddid-I-do! !"

"So it was a balloon all along?" Carla asked as she approached the device. It had blow holes on its top and sides, and long thin metal sticks. "Astounding… Was it actually a balloon during the Glitz Pit, too? If it was, how was he able to animate it so realistically?"

"Maybe Mr. Floop is magic!" Wendy guessed.

 _"Are you children tired of the world outside?"_ a man's voice spoke from nowhere. _"Tired of the parents yelling, the bullies pushing, and the teachers assigning homework? The critics critique, the dogs bark, and that apartment above yours keeps playing loud music while you're trying to sleep? Then you don't have to be. Not anymore. Welcome… to my home."_

Lights came on—before the kids knew it, they were standing in an orange sky. There was a spinning platform designed like a tornado, floating several meters above. Fegan Floop stood on the platform—actually, he floated a few inches above it. His back was facing them, but his arms were crossed, and they could see his gloved hands. Each hand stuck up its index finger, which had a white smiley face drawn on it.

 _It's a cruel cruel world_

 _And all you little boys and girls_

His thumbs stuck out.

 _And some mean, nasty people_

 _Want to have you for their supper_

He stuck a new finger up after every few words, then he whipped around and shouted,

 _BUT if you follow me_

 _You can all be free…free…_

 _You can all be free_

 _As a bird on a big TV_

 _If you dream… my… DREAM!_

The kids were uplifted on giant eyeballs that rose from below. Wendy and Chelia flailed their arms and legs, unable to balance on the spinning balls, but the balls positioned so they wouldn't fall over. Strange, humanoid creatures with misshapen, miscolored faces and clothing that clowns would wear were balancing on small, flying planets. As Floop danced and directed his arms and legs, the flying spheres spun and zigzagged around the air. Attached to Floop's platform were bikes that were being pedaled by children, spinning circles around their host.

 _It's a cruel cruel world_

 _Full of little boys and girls_

 _And the selfish mean, nasty people_

 _Nasty nasty nasty NASTY_

 _BUT there's a way_

 _You can make your day_

 _You can laugh, you can smile_

 _You can come and stay a while_

Sonny and Donna began cartwheeling in midair above their eyeballs, and Wendy was going to barf if this spinning kept up. They moved faster and faster around the center, the orange sky turned brighter, and Floop's smile grew bigger.

 _You can dream my dream_

 _You can have it all with me!_

 _You can dream MY dream!_

 _You can dream MY dream!_

 _DREAM… MY… DREEEEAAAAAAM!_

The brightness increased at the raise of his voice until white completely swallowed the area. Floop clapped hands—the momentum immediately stopped as the kids plummeted to the floor of what they assumed was the hangar. "Of course, that's just the beginning." Floop said with a grin, viewing the guests from his floating hand platform. "Wendy Marvell and Chelia Blendy, I am delighted to welcome you and your guests to Fegan Floop's Whackatorium! This is the place where all of the wondrous magic happens!"

"So you really ARE magic, Mr. Floop? ?" Wendy said with admiration.

"Uh-hov course I am, my dear!" Floop chuckled, showing his bright grin. "How else do you think a man can FLOAT so perfectly? !" He leapt and performed a splits while floating in midair.

"Perhaps those strings that are attached to you have something to do with it." Carla pointed out.

Floop looked at the ceiling, where the strings that were clearly holding his body originated from. "Oh, those? No no no, those are just…?" A question rose in Floop's head. "Who said that?"

"I did." Carla said firmly.

The host cocked a brow at the talking kitten. Floop flew down using his strings and set foot before the visitors. He bent down, picked Carla up, and raised her high. "A cat… with wings… who speaks… English… By far the _weirdest_ creature I've ever seen."

"I am about tired of everyone saying that about me. Just look at all of these so-called 'actors.'" She glanced at the misshapen humanoid creatures, who were speaking in squeaky and squiggly voices. "Weirdest costumes I've ever seen."

"Yes, but 'guys in costumes' can only sell so well." Floop shrugged. "But this cat is a real flesh-and-blood creature! Isn't she?"

"She's been that way ever since she hatched from her egg." Wendy replied.

"An EGG! HAH! Well, then it's settled, this fluffy creature will be the newest addition to my show!"

"Can me and Wendy be on the show, too? ?" Chelia asked brightly. "We would be perfect dancers! Er, I would at least, I haven't seen how she dances. I mean, I could train her either way."

"I really don't want to be on your show." Carla said. "Now please, put me down."

"But I HAVE to study you!" Floop swung Carla around, his face shining. "I have to do X-rays, know where you're from, know your lifespan, then I'll make tons of CLONES of you!"

"ABSOLUTELY not!" Carla jumped away and got beside Wendy. "What kind of man are you to treat creatures like pieces of machines that you can study? Is that what you're doing to the poor, innocent children here?"

 _"Carla!"_ Wendy silenced.

Floop seemed to flinch at that accusation. "Ho ho, you've got it all wrong!" he said more spiritedly. "The children here love it in Floop's Whackatorium! You, Rodrick, come here!" He gestured a tall brown-haired boy in casual attire to come over. "Don't you love it here in my castle?"

"Hyeah I do!" Rodrick replied with enthusiasm. "Floop's Whackatorium is the best! I don't ever wanna leave!"

"And what do you like most about it?"

"What I like most is… uh…" Rodrick was lost for words. "I like… I… uh-oh… I can't remember my line!" The boy was starting to panic. "Don't remember! Whaddo I say! Ohhh- eeeett!" Wendy and Chelia stepped back when he began twitching.

"THUMB-THUMBS!" Floop snapped his fingers. Two humanoid creatures, whose head, arms, and legs were all thumbs, wearing red shirts, marched in to grab and take the boy away. The Thumbs bumped into the wall beside the door, but resumed carrying him. Floop turned to the kids with a bright smile. "Thumb-Thumbs! Very reliable, despite being all thumbs."

The kids were a little horror-struck by what just happened. They didn't say anything about it. "Mr. Floop, where do all these children come from?" Wendy decided to ask.

"The children come from here, of course! They live here, they eat here, they love it here, so nothing else matters! The outside world is cruel, but here, the children are safe! They play together without a care in the world! And best of all, I can film all their crazy antics and make one heck of a popular show! (Which, naturally, pays the bills.)"

"But the children do have parents, don't they? People to teach them right from wrong?"

"Heh heh, don't you watch my show? The Fooglies do that! See?"

A black-haired boy was holding a bat ready as a blonde girl hurled a baseball. _"Weegily-de!"_ A purple Foogly with a stretched mouth jumped in the way. The ball got lodged in its stretched mouth, then the boy swung his bat and struck the right side of the mouth. This forced the left side to stretch longer, causing the Foogly to fall in that direction. The floor pressed the extended side, forcing the right to grow longer, and for the ball to fly out. It fell into a coffee cup, which was drunk by a Foogly with a big mouth. When the ball got stuck, another Foogly performed the Heimlich maneuver and shot it out like a bullet. It bounced around aimlessly before breaking through a window.

"Now, kids, this is why you don't play ball in the house." Floop spoke informatively.

 _"We're sorry, Mr. Floop."_ The kids bowed.

"I've heard of cartoons that make kids seem more competent than adults, but this is just uncharacteristic." Carla said reprovingly.

"HAH ha ha! Come on, Carla, it's funny!" Chelia laughed. "Maybe we're a bit more mature, but it would be fun to explore it a little! Plus, we can make a few extra bucks."

"Well, since you're excited about it," Floop said, "I'll look and see if I have some room to squeeze you. I'll just be a moment, so wait here until I get back!" The man threw his arms up, and flew away with his strings- "OW!" He bumped his head on the floating platform. "Oh, Floop!" he swore as the strings pulled him into a wall hatch. "Children, take five!"

The children fast-walked in a weird fashion and piled out of the room, leaving the Fooglies to watch the kids.

 _"Wendy."_ Carla whispered. Wendy bent down to her level. "I hate to say it, but there seems to be a little truth to Mr. Facilier's writing. They took that Rodrick boy away like he were a broken machine."

"You're right, Carla." Wendy whispered back. "I wonder if Mr. Floop is using magic to brainwash these kids."

"Well, Rodrick forgot his lines, so it looks more like child slavery. Also, I haven't seen one ounce of _real_ magic in this Phonatorium. I'll be surprised if little kids even buy this crud."

"That guy was totally flying! !" Sonny and Donna exclaimed.

"Hey, Donna, if we pull our eyes out, will they fly and spin and dance, too? ?"

"That's something worth checking out, Sonny!" Donna drew out a screwdriver.

"Stop!" Chelia got between them to hold them back. "That's not a good idea, guys!"

"Wendy, we should look around for any of the kids and try and get answers out of them." Carla suggested.

"You're right." Wendy and her cat approached a door on their right, but two Thumb-Thumb guards stepped in the way. "Uh, would it be all right if I went to the bathroom?"

"I would like to go, too!" Chelia yelled, happily jogging over.

"Me three!" Donna joined them.

"Me!…" Sonny was about to come over… but his expression sunk. "Wait… I just realized something."

"What's that?" Chelia asked.

"Without Mister Facilier… I'M THE ONLY BOY IN THIS GROUP! !" The male Ice Climber gripped his head and rolled around on the floor. "I'm gonna turn into a girly boy and want girl things and want to hang out with girls! QUICK, BRING ME A FOOTBALL!"

One of the Fooglies casually tossed him a football. "Get ahold of yourself." Carla stated. "At least you still have a separate bathroom. Come on, let's go."

A Thumb-Thumb walked from the front, and another from behind as they escorted the kids to the restrooms. The parallel restroom doors had a "?", and an upside-down "¿" respectively. The girls decided to enter the latter, while Sonny took the "?" bathroom.

The toilets inside the stalls were designed like tornadoes of different color. "…I sure hope we don't get sucked in!" Chelia said perkily.

"Me, too…" Given their suspicions about Floop, Wendy and Carla felt like they would be.

"Hey, is your kitty potty trained? I'd love to see that!"

"I'm curious as to whether or not _you_ were trained." Carla retorted. "Privacy, please."

Chelia took the far right stall, Donna had the middle, and Wendy and Carla the left.

 _"Wendy, up there."_ Carla whispered, pointing her paw upward. There was an air vent on the ceiling. "You can turn small with the Reducio spell and I'll carry you up and through that. Then we can search around the castle."

"Good idea." Wendy said softly. "But how will you open it without Chelia noticing?"

"Wendy, if Floop is the madman we think he is, Chelia may be in danger, too. Perhaps now is the time to tell her the truth."

"What? Carla, I can't! What if she doesn't believe me, or thinks I really _am_ a criminal?"

"But Chelia's powers can benefit us. Plus, it's only fair to warn her so that she can keep her guard up."

There was a knock on their stall door. "Wendy, is that you two whispering?" Chelia asked. "What're you talking about?"

"N-Nothing!" Wendy said panickingly.

"Wendy, just tell her!" Carla insisted.

"I…I can't! I'm just getting to know her and she seems really sweet, but if I tell her what I'm trying to do, I…"

"You want to tell me something? Wendy, what's going on?" Chelia asked again. "Are you having trouble with the toilet?"

"SHEESH, Wendy, when'd you become a big girl all of a sudden?" Donna remarked jokingly.

"N-NO!" The statement made Wendy flush, and her anxiety grew. "Uh-I-I, uh, I… REDUCIO!"

"Wendy, what's-…?" Chelia barged and Donna peeked from behind. A tiny Wendy and Carla were on the toilet's edge.

"O-kay, maybe not." Donna followed.

 _"DARN IT, Child, you shrunk me, too!"_

 _"I'm sorry, Carla!"_ Wendy tried to balance. _"I was feeling a little claustrophobic and- AAAAAHHH!"_ She grabbed her cat and fell back in the toilet.

"WENDY!" Chelia ran in and tried to grab her, but the tornado-like toilet slurped them down impossibly fast.

"WAAAAAAHHHHH!" Wendy and Carla swirled around and around as though the pipes were purposely designed like a spiraling waterslide. "IS THIS WHAT ALL OUR POOP GOES THROUGH?"

"A LADY SHOULD NEVER ASK THAT, WENDY!" Carla cried.

"WHOOOA!" They flew out the pipe and into a sewer river that washed them along.

"HANG ON!" Carla grabbed the red-eyed girl and forcefully flapped her wings to pull them both out. She managed to fly up and set Wendy on the sidewalk before she quickly tired out.

"Phew… Thank you, Carla." Wendy breathed to ease her racing heart.

"My pleasure, huff…" Carla gasped for air. "Now change us back to normal."

"Right." Wendy grabbed her wand. "Re…" She realized something. "Wait a second… I DON'T REMEMBER THE COUNTER-SPELL! ! AAAAHH what're we gonna do, Carla! ! We're gonna be stuck small and get eaten by one of Floop's crazy-looking sewer rats, waaaahhhh!"

"ENGORGIO!" Carla shouted. "I remember the doctor using it on a pebble during one of his demonstrations.

"Oh… phew." Wendy's anxiety faded again. "Engorgio." She stretched them both to normal size.

"Sigh. That could've gone worse. Now let's get back upstairs and search this loony museum."

 **Floop's Throne Room**

"Mister Minion!" Floop spoke spritely to the man in white clothing, black hair, and glasses. "Fashionably still here, as usual!"

"Mr. Floop, fashionably _late_." Mr. Minion bowed. "I've been observing the cameras, and I see you brought quite the party with you. The Sky Dragon Wendy Marvell." He gestured to the small screens that were around Floop's hand throne. One had an image of Wendy's curious expression. "The daughter of Red Eye that former Corporate President, Norman Osborn reported all those years ago. The portal to Mariejoa is functioning perfectly. What are your plans for detaining the child?"

"Actually, I don't think I want to do that just yet." Floop clamped his hands and spoke in a sure and professional manner. "Wanted felon though she may be, that hair and those eyes are WAY too beautiful to throw away! They pack a kind of weirdness that Floop Industries admires. She and that pink-haired girl, Chelia, would become the most popular characters on my show! And a talking _cat_ with wings, HAH! MARVELOUS! Those little coat twins seem like a fun bunch, too! Mr. Minion, withhold telling the World Leaders until I make actors out of these kids."

"Mr. Floop, you can't be _that_ demented." Minion said seriously. "This girl is the daughter of a dangerous revolutionary. For all you know, she could be in here on her father's orders, you could be in danger!"

"Mr. Minion, can I ask, when this 'daughter' of Red Eye's was reported 11 years ago, did President Osborn provide us any physical description?"

"N…No."

"Mr. Minion, I've heard of numerous people, girls even, who have red eyes, so what singles this one out? I mean, Red Eye doesn't even have blue hair!"

"She is an _airbender_ , clearly possesses magical abilities, and her speed is rivaled only by the legendary Mobian, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"So maybe she's Sonic's daughter! She does have pointy ears. I heard he fell in love with a human princess called Elise, maybe they had a daughter. Plus, didn't Sonic's Super Form have red eyes?"

"MR. FLOOP, it doesn't even matter whose daughter she is!" Minion shouted. "We are under orders to capture her and turn her in to the Government! It is because of this girl that Master Churchill's first apprentice, Norman Osborn, was killed! If you aim to fill his shoes, then Master will respect you greatly if you capture the child that caused him grief!"

"SHE was a BABY!" Floop yelled. "SHE could not have been old enough to kill him! It was RED EYE that killed President Osborn! And my castle is meant to be a world of fun and dreams. I will not treat my guests rashly."

 _"Mr. Floop! The Sky Dragon is in the castle sewer!"_ a man from the PA reported.

"WHAT?" Floop ran to his throne and saw one of the monitors depicted Wendy and Carla running down a sewer passage. "How in the world did she get down there?"

"This is exactly what I was talking about!" Minion stated. "We have to catch her before she starts causing damage! We have to call the Leaders."

"NO." Floop raised a hand, gesturing 'stop.' "I can handle this girl. Mr. Lisp, activate the defensive holograms! Even if I have to trap her, I want to speak to this girl myself." (Play "Labyrinth of Deceit" from _Kid Icarus: Uprising_!)

 _Stage B-9: Labyrinth of Weirdness_

 _Mission: Find out Floop's intentions._

The sewer passage was lit with wall torches, and seemed to stretch on for miles as Wendy dashed through. She sidestepped to avoid the Foogly-designed Lockjaws, then a Dash Panel redirected Wendy down a left hall. "The castle really does not seem that large from the outside, how is there this much sewer underneath?" Carla questioned.

"I told you, Carla, magic!"

"And I told you I don't believe it." Wendy eventually ran up a river that sloped at 90 degrees, and the passage after that swerved up and over like a loop. She ran into a Spring Pad that rapidly bounced her around several springs across a bright passage. The last spring shot her into a polished hallway with a red floor designed like jigsaw puzzles, and white walls. "Phew, we made it back." Wendy sighed as she kept running. "Let's look for the children- AAAAHH!" The floor ahead of her crumbled away, exposing a deep chasm—Wendy took a tremendous leap, Carla grabbed her and tried to carry her over… "AAAAH!" The cat lost her grip and dropped Wendy.

"AAAH- uuh!" Wendy hit solid floor. She sat up and stared confused; the endless pit was just an illusion. "…Sigh. That's my third jumpscare today." She got back on her feet and turned a left corridor. The hall was growing wider, and as her speed increased, the dimension stretched, turned blurry, and white. "WAAAH!" She suddenly ran off an edge—she was in a dimension where the sky was one of those stretchy, abstract paintings. Wendy collided onto a floating red platform designed like the floor of the actual castle. There was a group of Flyer Fooglies (with round centers that had propeller blades) making a path, so Wendy bounced across them to a new platform.

There was a lone Flyer Foogly beside this platform, and the next path seemed to be higher above. Wendy began spin-jumping on this Foogly, and her airbending conjured a whirlwind that propelled him upward. She noticed one of the other Fooglies in the row had a Fire Soul above him, so Wendy decided to do the same maneuver to collect it. She returned to the previous Foogly and used it to float up to the new path—she needed a moment to let her sick stomach settle. This road had huge, rectangular blocks on either side (the top of the left ones seemed to have collectables), and the central path was guarded by Thumb-Thumbs. Wendy boosted straight through, arms outstretched to either side as she unleashed wind beams to knock them down.

At the path's end, Wendy began grinding across an ever-extending tongue coming from a screaming Floop face. Ignoring how disgusting this was, the tongue spiraled downward and directed into a dark-red twister statue. Wendy ran around and around down the twister as it brought her into a new hallway. "This man just enjoys toying with our minds." Carla said. "I think finding an exit should be our main priority."

"We can't leave the others behind. Let's just keep looking." The hall seemed to go straight, Wendy ran along and dodged left and right to avoid the opening trapdoors. She dodged some giant Floop heads that swung down from the ceiling, then had to perform a drift when the hall swerved left and downward. "Look, Carla! It's the Children's Quarters!" There was a huge label over said door in the distance. "Pretty soon, we'll know if—OOF!" She collided with the wall painting of the hall leading to the Children's Quarters. "Owwww… okay… Wait, there it is!" Wendy saw another Children's Quarters on her left, so she ran the distance, sidestepping the floor panels that popped up on the way.

"Wendy, DON'T!" Carla was quick to catch up and pull Wendy to a halt. She stopped just before colliding with the wall painting. "Honestly, dear…"

"Sorry." Wendy turned a right route, which had bars over the floor that she had to jump—she saw the glares of glass over some of the bars, so with those, she had to crouch and slide under. When the hall turned left, it seemed straight and empty, but the floor sunk partway, it sunk again, and inch-inch-inched a bit lower as Wendy kept running. Finally, the jigsaw ground broke away, and she ran across a dark, metal passage that swerved right. She halted before a chasm where rows of waterfalls poured out of pipes. "Glacius!" Wendy cast a freezing spell on the falls so she could Wall Jump across them. Once across, she entered a tunnel that sloped down, and the bright sky of outside hit her eyes.

"Whoooooaa!" The sight was amazing in Wendy's eyes. She was now sprinting across a beach, viewing the beautiful sunrise in the distance. "We made it outside, Carla! And it's so amazing!"

 _"Ooooooooo. . ."_ A whale leapt out of the ocean, and its four tails flapped up in the air as it slowly splashed back in. A majestic golden eagle screeched in the heavens, creating a strong breeze with the flapping of its wings. Wendy basked in the extraordinary atmosphere, running with no desire to stop. She felt so free in this beautiful world. No one or nothing could ever-

"OW!" She crashed into a wall when the world literally turned black. The area blinked, and the two appeared in a big, but ordinary castle room. _"The holographic simulator in Wing 32 is faulty. Any available staff are requested to fix it."_

"So is everything in this nuthouse holographic?" Carla asked. "As I suspected, there isn't a shred of magic behind this."

Thumb-Thumbs dropped in from the ceiling, and Wendy breakdanced to kick two of them off their, well, thumbs. "Sky Dragon WING ATTACK!" She spun her arms to extend twin cyclones and blew the other Thumbs down. Carla lifted her owner onto a taller platform, and from there, Wendy followed a hall that turned right and led to another 'Children's Quarters.' "Another one?" Wendy questioned.

Carla flew over to the door and tried to jiggle the knob. "It's locked, but it seems real this time."

"Oh, what is that spell Mr. Facilier said that opened things? Uhh… Alohomora?" A small light came from her wand and opened the door. The two girls entered a room where dozens of children seemed to be playing freely. A boy and girl were throwing a ball back-and-forth, a circle of kids played Duck Duck Goose, and two more kids were touching each other's shoulders and repeating, "You're it." All of the children bore blank expressions.

"They don't look too upset." Wendy observed.

"Well, let's go up and talk to one."

"Okay." Wendy approached one of the boys playing stand-still Tag. She tapped his shoulder, "Excuse me, could you tell me why everyone-"

 _"ERROR. ERROR."_ The boy shouted. _"Tag Mode only scheduled for F0625! Default detected! ERROR."_

All of the children directed their attention at Wendy, and their eyes sparked. The children began to make stylish Kung-Fu moves, rolling at Wendy and throwing punches and kicks. Wendy dodged the kids and tried to run away, but they kicked on rocket shoes and flew at her. "Protego!" Wendy conjured a pink bubble that the kids haphazardly crashed into. One of them weakly got up, and his head twitched as there were sparking sounds.

"Wait… Wendy, use a fire spell on one of them." Carla requested.

"Why?"

"Because I don't think these children are real!"

"Er, okay… Incendio!" Wendy singed the recovered boy with fire. His fake skin melted off and exposed the robotic skeleton. "They're robots!"

"I've had enough of this man's tomfoolery! Wendy, just blast them all!" Wendy cast Reducto curses to explode many of the robot children, then she boosted out of the room through an opposite door. She was suddenly running across a treadmill, which was moving the opposite direction and making her slow down. She jumped the robot children that were being carried across, and Carla observed the rest of the room. Kids' heads were opening like lids while metal claws placed small, mechanical brains inside. "I have to commend his engineering, at least."

Wendy jumped to grab a metal claw above the treadmill, and it carried her above a chute and dropped her down. She dashed down a round passage, drifting right and left when it snaked. They saw orange light shining ahead, and found their selves running across a cloud-covered ground under a twilight sky. "Is this a hologram, too?" Wendy asked.

"It would appear so. Do not be deceived- AAAAH!" Carla screamed.

"Carla, what-" Wendy looked up, "AAAAAAH!" (End song.)

 _"Hi there!"_ Floop greeted them with his charming smile. He was 50 feet tall, but the lower half of his body was below the clouds. _"Things are beautiful up here, aren't they?"_

"HE'S A GIANT!" Wendy panicked.

"It's not real, Wendy, it's not real!" Carla's fur was tingling.

 _"Can you really say what's real and what isn't real? How do you know the sun isn't a gigantic spotlight? Or if the sky isn't a projection?"_

"Stop acting like you own a whacky chocolate factory and start being straight with us! We already discovered the secret behind your so-called 'children'! They're about as real as anything else in this place! I wonder if the World Government uses your crummy show to brainwash kids."

Floop raised a brow. _"Brainwash?"_

"Carla!" Wendy shouted.

The cat clamped paws over her mouth. "Oh, my… Were we still undercover?"

 _"It's true that I have connections to the World Government… but why on_ Earth _would you insinuate that mind-control is my goal?"_

"We didn't!" Wendy shouted. "We just… W-W-We… sigh, Mr. Floop, can you please tell me what you do up here?"

The giant smiled and held a hand down to the child. _"Allow me… to show you…"_

With clear concern on her face, and wondering if this was still a hologram, Wendy stepped on the hand. It slowly lifted her and Carla up to Floop's eye level. _"Look…"_ He turned to face the horizon. The sun slowly set under an endless ocean, whose waves brushed the shore. Millions of stars slowly formed in the sky. A cold breeze touched their faces.

"This is the world I created." Wendy's heart jumped when a normal size Floop appeared beside her, and they were standing on a tall rock. "Inspired by many, like Walt Disney or Willy Wonka… I've always believed in imagination. Imagination… gave me happiness as a child. And all I wanted to do was create a show with my own artistic talents… Sigh, but the studios weren't fond of my ideas. And for a while, my talents went unappreciated. Until I met… Henry Churchill."

"He's one of the World Leaders." Carla remembered from Facilier's paper.

"He isn't just a Leader. Master Churchill is a very brilliant author. Of course, he was unappreciated, before he attained his position. He told me he was fond of my creativity. So he had this castle designed. He gave me the technology to build robot children, and I purchased the Fooglies from a company called Nightmare Enterprises. My show was on the air… and it was a _dream_ come true…" His expression was bright as the artificial sun, lost in memories. "…And then Master Churchill wanted to use my robots for the Government's army. I had to make them… violent…" His smile faded. _"_ And since then, I felt… a strange tear in my heart…"

Wendy and Carla looked at each other, feeling his change in tone. Floop turned to them. "Ms. Marvell… you seem like a marvelous girl. Would you and Ms. Blendy really like to be on my show?"

"I-I'd love to-" Wendy returned to her ditzy, sheepish self, "but I'm really not great at acting, y'see-"

 _"Oh, Mr. Floop! I see you've found our little straggler. Would you bring her to the throne room? Her friends seem awfully worried about her."_

"I will; thanks, Mr. Minion!" Floop called. His smile faltered again as he turned away. He looked a bit nervous. "Ahem… This way, if you will." Floop clapped his hands and switched off the hologram, revealing the true appearance of this green room. After the platform they were standing on sunk down, Floop led them down the castle corridors.

After turning a corner that had a statue of a green, headless giraffe, they were greeted by Chelia. "Wendy, THERE you are!" the dancer shouted. "What was that business in the bathroom all about? Did the toilet decide to shrink you and suck you down? ?"

"U-Uh, I-"

"Mr. Floop, there you are!" They were approached by Minion. "Would you join us in the room please, we have a guest." He returned the way he came.

"W- Wait- Guest?" Floop rushed after, and the girls joined as they made it to the throne room. "I wasn't expecting any other guests, who's visiting?"

"Chapter 3 of Introducing Characters:" Floop stopped and stared at the throne with a mix of fear and surprise. There was a man in blue jeans and a blue patterned shirt reading a book. He clamped the book shut to show his charming blue eyes and shiny brown hair. "Dramatic Entrances." Henry Churchill concluded.

"W- I- Wai-" Floop was lost on words, looking at Wendy, then Henry. "M-Master Churchill!"

"Master Churchill? !" Wendy said, horrified.

"The World Leader?" Carla whispered with the same amount of horror.

"I came as soon as your minion called and told me the exemplary news!" Henry walked toward them with his arms open. "The Sky Dragon… ensnared like a bear in a venus flytrap. I knew you were more clever than people perceive you."

"Mr. Minion, I didn't order you to-"

"Yes, and you _wouldn't_ have." Minion stated. "I called Master Churchill on my own accord because, unlike you, I was not concerned for the ratings of your petty kids' show. The World Government hired me to work for you, but I only serve the Government. And any loyal citizen would bring a criminal like her to justice."

"Hold on a second!" Chelia shouted. "Wendy isn't a criminal, and I don't think it's right for you to judge her just because she's related to one!"

"She signed up for the Glitz Pit tournament, _in disguise_ , to win a trip to your castle, then she somehow sneaks into the sewer during a 'bathroom break.'" Minion summarized. "This girl is clearly aligned with the Revolutionaries!"

"NO, she is NOT!" Carla argued. "She is a wizard in training and she only entered the tournament to study!"

"Whether she _is_ or she _isn't_ affiliated with them, I do not care." Churchill said in his soft, calm voice. "That isn't why her wanted poster was created."

"W-…" Floop looked surprised at that statement, as was Wendy. "Whaddo you mean?"

"True, I marked that as the reason for her bounty, but only to hide the existence of our secret… _item_." Henry smirked. "You see, we World Leaders have the ability to see the past and future. We knew, the minute this girl's identity was learned, she would be a danger to us. According to that which the Octogan has shown us… this very girl, Wendy Marvell… is going to _kill me_."

"K-Kill you? !" Wendy responded.

"The Octogan does not lie to us. Your father killed my first apprentice… then, you humiliated my temporary apprentice, Bob… I was so afraid that Mr. Floop would meet a terrible end… but instead, he delivers you directly to me. Perhaps three… _is_ a charm. Thank you, my apprentice." Henry's body began to break into papers that blew around the air. "I will take the Sky Dragon to Mariejoa… to be executed."

"EXECUTED/EXCUSE ME/SAY WHAT? !" Everyone yelled a reaction. Wendy gripped her neck, feeling a sudden, but imaginary tinge.

"Master Churchill, I thought you wanted to use her to capture Red Eye!" Floop argued.

"And I'm sure Red Eye will be horribly traumatized for the child's death. His darkness will destroy him inside. We won't need to do a thing." Henry's papers scattered about, then began to wrap around Wendy like a mummy. The girl's arms were binded, she desperately shook while the others tried to pull the papers off.

"INCENDIO!" Chelia cast a fire spell to burn the papers. Henry Churchill reformed into a human, shaking frantically to get the fire off.

"Hothothothothothothothot!"

Minion pulled out two Tasers and "Y-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZT!" shocked Chelia and Wendy.

"Mr. Minion, I order you to stop-" Floop began.

"I don't think you'll be in anymore position after this." Minion smirked. "From now on, I will be _Master_ Minion, and you will be-"

A giant snowball blasted in and smashed both Henry and Minion against the jigsaw windows. "The comic relief twins are here to save the day!" Sonny and Donna popped out of the snowball.

"Deus ex-machina for the home stretch!" Donna cheered.

"If only it _were_ that simple." The snowball suddenly melted, and the twins fell. There were red papers floating around Henry. "But paper is made from all sorts of trees and plants. Even Sun Trees retain their natural heat after death."

"Wendy, we have to escape!" Carla shouted. "Shrink us down so we can get in the box!"

"The robot children are coming!" Floop yelled when the human-like kids with sparking eyes were marching from down the hall.

"WENDY, WATCH OUT!" Chelia lashed her arm and blew Henry's papers away with black wind. "I'll distract him, you just do whatever you said with the box!"

"I have it right here!" Carla threw the small treasure chest on the floor and opened it. Wendy grabbed her wand and cast "Reducio!" on Carla, the Ice Climbers, then Floop before putting them each in the box.

 _"It worked, Wendy, it's safe!"_

"Chelia, hold still!" Wendy readied to zap her.

Chelia turned around- "AAAAAH!" The papers quickly overcame her.

"CHELIA!"

"NNN!" She tried to rip some off with Haki, but they latched back on just as quickly. "Wendy, I'll be okay! You just go!"

"WHAT? ! I don't wanna leave you!"

"It's okay, I know how to handle myself! Plus, even if I came, they could always chase you inside the box. You jump in and I'll destroy it from this side!"

"But Chelia, what if they kill you? !"

"I told you, I can handle myself! And I'm certainly not gonna let them kill you! Just GO, Wendy!"

"But why are you even doing this? ! We just met, we barely know each other! You don't even know if I AM a real criminal!"

"Yeah, well… even if you are…" Chelia grunted, trying to fight the papers and grab the wand on the side of her skirt. "You're the only one who… lasted longer than one minute against me… so if I'm still alive… I wanna challenge you… to a rematch… eh…" She finally grabbed her wand and yelled, "REDUCIO!"

Wendy was zapped down to size, and she fell into the little box, which closed shut. "Reducto!" Chelia blew the chest to smithereens.

"Whooa!" After Wendy fell in, the gravity shifted upwards, and she landed on the floor of a dark basement, facing a bigger version of the chest. After Floop helped her stand, Wendy opened the chest in a panic. The inside of it was totally plain. "Ch…Chelia…"

"At least her sacrifice wasn't in vain, Child." Carla said. "Now they can't follow us."

"True, but… couldn't they have just destroyed _this_ box?" Floop questioned.

"Oh… Perhaps…"

"Died in vain." Sonny said cluelessly.

"Pointless gesture." Donna followed.

 _"Life is cruel."_

Wendy began to cry over the empty box. For the second time this week, she was forced to abandon a friend.

* * *

 **Man, it has been Hell for me this past week. The only solace I can find is writing this story. Sigh… Anyway, I considered squeezing a boss in this chapter, but I decided against it for space. Feels like Wendy's not getting many stages compared to August, which is kinda funny. Well, next time, we'll begin the Original Worlds Arc, which starts with an Augustus level.**


	13. The First Expedition

**So this is the start of the Original Worlds Arc in the Side Stories… kinda. Well, this Wendy scene happens during Chapter 19, but the chapter is meant to be read after 20. This arc is actually meant to be pretty long, too. (P.S. the "Rock Candy" has been renamed the "Rock Nut" because I just remembered the Rock Candy is one of the Candy Powers. So in case you're confused.)**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 13: The First Expedition_**

 **Unknown basement**

"Come on, how does this thing work!" Wendy demanded as she felt around the chest's bottom. "Do I need a spell or something? !"

"Chelia probably already destroyed the other one like she said." Carla stated. "Quit wasting your strength trying to make it work, she wanted you to escape!"

"But I could've helped her!"

"As a matter of fact, why did you save THIS lunatic? !" Carla pointed accusingly at Floop—he was curiously searching a dusty cardboard box, then flinched at the mention of himself. "You brought Wendy to your castle in the first place to hand her to your master."

"Look, it's true that my master put Wendy on the wanted list," Floop said, "but I had no intention of handing her over immediately. Granted, I found it curious that she would want a tour of my castle, but I planned to have Wendy and Chelia on my show! You think it's easy to make robotic children behave like REAL children? I wanted real child actors from the start, but no reasonable child would want to climb up that secluded mountain every day. A couple of airbenders wouldn't have had trouble with that, however. Besides, you children are a riot!" he yelled excitedly. "Almost summer and those two are STILL wearing parkas!"

"It's not summer in all places." Sonny said with a glare.

"You dunno where we're from." Donna followed.

"We need to find out where we are." Carla said. "Come on, Wendy, let's go."

"Sigh… All right." Wendy shut the chest and followed her friends.

Once the group found some stairs up, they appeared in a living room of an average house. "W- bobble-gibble now who the heck are YOU kids?" an old African-American man asked them with an… odd way of talking. "What're you doing in our basement, with the dust and the poor lighting and the- d'aww, you know what Ah'm talkin' about, be-babbly goo."

"It's Bill Cosby!" Sonny exclaimed.

"No, it's Kevin Michael Richardson!" Donna contradicted.

"Oh, zey must be ze people my brother said vould pop out of that old box in ze basement!" his wife said with a French accent.

"Brother? Miss, are you talking about Dr. Facilier?" Wendy asked.

"Yes, I am Harvey's sister, Clarice. He and I used to play with zose boxes all ze time, with ze magic and ze poofy smoke and ze, aww you know what je parle de!"

"It's nice to meet you." Wendy smiled. "I'm your brother's student, Wendy. This is Carla, Sonny, Donna, and-"

"Fegan Floop, nice to meet you!" The show host shook Clarice's hand.

"Say, haven't we seen you on the tele?" Dr. Lincoln asked. "You had the Fooglies and the Booglies and the Oompa-Loompas…?"

"His show has hit a snag in production." Carla mentioned. "We'd love to stay and tell you about it, but we must be going."

"We're sorry for disturbing you." Wendy bowed as they headed out. "We'll tell your brother you said 'hi'!" They shut the door as they left.

"…Garret, did zat cat just talk?" Clarice asked.

"Mum-bum, Clarice, our children have gihugic 50-foot treehouses on the moon." Garret replied while reading his newspaper (the tagline read _Chaos in Dressrosa_ ). "I think it's best not to question things and be the oblivious adults we've always been."

The edge of the horizon was orange while the rest of the sky was indigo with stars. The four humans and cat walked out into the middle of the neighborhood street. "Wendy, I really must thank you for getting me out of that place." Floop said. "The only reason I took the job as Churchill's apprentice was to have the resources and freedom to build my show. I wanted my show to inspire fun and freedom to the world's kids… but for some bizarre reason… it didn't have enough _heart_ behind it. I was missing something… and I didn't know what. Then I brought you and Chelia… and I think I knew."

"What were you missing?" Wendy asked.

Floop put a hand on his head and turned away. He spoke musingly. "Is it even possible… for two girls to know each other for less than a day… and bond in so short a time that… one sacrifices for the other?"

Wendy felt a tug in her heart. The events transpired just moments ago, and she still felt bad. Floop turned to them with a humorous smile. "It's just _weird_! I don't know human relations to develop so quickly! It's the kind of thing you would only see on TV. And the best part about it is… you were actually human. Kids would find you so relatable. …Maybe that's why I wanted you on my show."

Wendy looked down, silent for a second. "…Mr. Floop? What're they gonna do to Chelia?"

Floop's smile faltered, thinking about his own response with remorse. "…Since Chelia is a magic user, they'll probably lock her up in Azkaban."

"Azkaban? !" Wendy shouted.

"Isn't that the wizards' prison?" Carla asked.

 _"The one where the phantoms eat your soul?"_ the Ice Climbers quivered.

"Actually, ever since the Government became friends with the magical community, it's become their main prison." Floop said. "Of course, that'll be the nicest thing to happen to her. She's _fighting_ a World Leader. A World Leader is powerful enough to take on a whole country. And Master Churchill was going to kill you, so…"

Wendy clamped a hand over her mouth to hold a scream. She began to cry. "…Maybe I should go." Floop figured. "The Government will probably be after me for treachery, so…"

"You don't think we're going to let you wander freely, do you?" Carla stated. "You could still be in league with Churchill."

"Heh, please, Charlie, give me a little slack!" Floop grinned.

"The name is Carla."

"Well, at least I'm not the only one full of hot air." Floop puffed up and POPPED.

"HE EXPLODED!" Wendy panicked.

"It's okay, I'm over here!" Floop appeared from behind a bush.

"IT'S ANOTHER TRICK!" Donna leapt forth, hammer ready.

"LET'S POP IT!" Sonny drew his own hammer.

"BOOOF!" They smashed Floop's head from either side and knocked him out cold. "…Or maybe it wasn't." Donna said as the man lay with his tongue hanging out.

 _"Oh, Floop."_

"You kids take him somewhere hidden." Carla told them. "We shouldn't let him into Dr. Facilier's hideout. I'll take Wendy back."

 _"No prob, Bob!"_ The twins saluted before dragging Floop along the ground. ("Get it, 'cause you're a cat!" said Donna.)

 **Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

After dashing into the city, Wendy found the alleyway and opened the emporium entrance. "Mr. Facilier! I'm back from-!" She immediately halted upon the sight of two visitors: a girl with aquamarine hair and a brown-haired boy in a red jacket. "Oh… I didn't realize you had company over, I'm sorry."

The boy gasped. "Hey, you're that girl I saw while I was driving!"

"Oh!" She sparked in remembrance. "I didn't expect to see you again! My name's Wendy." She held a hand out.

"Nice to meet ya again, Wendy!" He shook. "I'm Cheren, this is my friend, Sugar."

"Hi, Sugar." Wendy held a hand to her. "You have pretty hair."

". . . Um. . ." Sugar stared at her hand nervously.

"Suuugaaaaar. Whaddid I teach you about manners?" Cheren asked scoldingly.

". . ." Sweating, Sugar shook Wendy's hand. "Hi, Wendy. Pretty cat."

"Thanks. She's my friend, Carla. We're trying to-"

"GREAT, y'all are crossover buddies, and I'm sure you'd love to fill each other of your respective story arcs, but _we gotta get movin'!"_ Facilier hurriedly gestured Cheren and Sugar out of the shop. "Good luck, kids! Bring home the good news!" He slammed the door. The witch-doctor immediately jumped back into his chair. "WENDY, you're back!" He spoke with his usual energetic grin. "So how was the mission?"

Carla shot up to his face and shouted, "YOU HAVE A LOT OF NERVE to send Wendy on a dangerous mission and ask that question so casually!"

"Mister Facilier, did you really think I could've pulled that mission off?" Wendy asked with hurt in her voice. "I mean, the info was totally wrong, and worse than that-"

"Wendy, Ah'm sorry I tricked you into that!" Facilier interrupted. "And to be honest, I really didn't think you were ready for somethin' like that!"

"Then why did you let Wendy do it?" asked Carla. "And please don't say it is because her father wanted her to."

"He-… ugh…" Facilier had no other answer. "Wendy, it's…it's only because yo' daddy has faith in you."

"Then why doesn't he come up to me and say that?"

"Because he's an international criminal! The only person who's worth more than him on the posters is some bozo called Ragaj Gnik! I dunno who that guy is, but they gotta give SOME kinda reason for makin' him worth two billion dollars."

"Mister Facilier, when'm I gonna be allowed to see my parents?"

" _I… don't… know!_ Sigh…" The doctor looked at Wendy's downtrodden look with regret. "Look, y'all are probably hungry. I brought some food with me back from Glitzville, so how 'bout we eat and… just tell me what happened."

"…Okay." Wendy said. "Just let me change out of these 'Wendell' clothes."

Wendy changed back into her emerald dress with diamond patterns, eating dinner as she explained the story to Facilier. "So the whole time, Floop wa'n't even a bad guy." The doctor recollected. "Really does seem like a waste, don't it." He sipped some coffee. "Ah'm really sorry about Chelia."

"Don't be. It was my fault it happened." Wendy replied depressedly.

"Don't say that, Child." Carla said. "You told Chelia to come along, but she insisted…"

"No, it was my fault! Something bad has happened to almost every person I met! I hurt Lee Andrew, I ruined Orchid Bay for June, now there's Chelia, and even Mr. Floop could be in trouble with the Government now… I thought wearing these Chi Stabilizers would help me make friends better, but they haven't! It's like the universe is really saying I'm not allowed to make friends. Carla, what if something bad happens to you or Dr. Facilier, or the twins? I couldn't bear it if… sniff-sniff…" She started to cry again.

"WENDY!" Facilier smacked the table with his cane and scared her upright. "Now, girl, a teacher can only give you so much sympathy before it starts to sound like pity. I don't want you to feel upset, but I ain't gonna be able to provide ya comfort all the time. Now I agree that these are a series of unfortunate coincidences, but when it comes down to it, these people made their own decisions in the end. Only you can decide if you're a walking bad luck train, otherwise you just gotta suck it up and be glad the universe is still letting you run around."

". . . ." Wendy didn't respond, and she didn't feel like shedding another tear. She resumed eating the peas and mashed potatoes the doctor laid out for her. "So, um… do you know those two people?" she asked.

"Oh, well, that Sugar girl was goin' through her own problems. But that boy…" Facilier smiled and spoke with high regard, "That boy was Cheren Uno. Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door. His daddy was one of the best people alive back then, and his _mama_ is one of the best people alive… and let me tell you, that boy did some pretty amazing stuff. Wendy, if you had that boy as your friend, then you would have nothing to worry about."

"Why do you think that?"

Facilier smiled thoughtfully, stirring his coffee with a teaspoon. "Well, from what I heard… he's everybody's best friend." He took a sip.

 **Prehistoric Earth**

Nel had guided the Marzipan Pirates and Aisling to a valley, where they saw a mountain with a gigantic nest in the distance. "That Terry mountain." The cavegirl said, still riding Augustus's shoulders. "It look like Terry not home. Can Aughsucks cross valley?"

"IT'S AUGUSTUS!" the boy shouted. "And watch me! The Marzipans are about to become the first explorers of Planet Earth!" (Play "Terrydactyland" from _Banjo-Tooie_!)

 _Stage B-10: Primordial Rock_

 _Mission: Find the Rock Nut._

The pirates followed a passage within a small, narrow trench. They encountered a Bargasaurus, a burgundy-colored stegosaur-like dino with green eyes and spikes along its back, guarding a ledge. The Bargasaur charged at Augustus and pushed the captain back a few feet. "Grrrr." He drew out his Gobstopper to throw at the dino's face, but the angered Bargasaur withstood the attack and rammed him again. However, the Baby Trio, Nel, and Aisling seized the chance to run around it and make it up onto the ledge. "Ain'tchu guys gonna help me? ?" Augustus yelled when the dino returned to its position.

"Ain'tchor Haki come back, yet?" Rallo asked.

"Ha ha ha! Aughsucks can't beat small Bargasaur!" Nel clapped.

"Ugh. I'm wedging you brats when this is over." Augustus got up and held his arms open when the Bargasaur charged again. He pushed against the dino and stayed firm on his feet as he tried to channel Haki to his arms. While his arms didn't color black, he showed an enhance in strength, and was able to throw the dino aside. The captain quickly ran up to and jumped on the ledge with his allies, and Nel climbed back up on his shoulders.

The explorers crossed a wider area, avoiding the Bargasaurs that were roaming around. They watched as Aisling sprinted across the plain and the following platforms, once again intending to bypass the stage and watch the humans endure the ordeals. The kids jumped up some tall, natural stairs, which became narrow platforms over the thin trench below. Soarasaurs, which were greenish-yellow pteranodons, attempted to push the crew off, but a quick whack with the Gobstopper could knock them senseless. At the end of the platforms, they faced a greater plain of Dodongos, which were huge green lizard-like reptiles. However, they looked into the trench and saw a Gold Wonka Bar being guarded by a caveman, who was covered in thick green armor and wielding a spiked club.

"That member of Rocknut Tribe." Nel said. "They big bully cavemen. Only weak spot is their butt, but need hit really hard."

"Stewie, do you still have your missile launcher?" Augustus asked.

"It's out of ammo." Stewie replied.

Just then, a large Life Saver candy hit the ground near the edge of the plain. "What's that?" Rallo asked as they hopped over. The Life Projector projected a hologram of Princess Zeira.

 _"I thought you guys would need help getting through. So I'm warping Magic Candies to points around your area. You can use this Pop Gum to attack some enemies."_ An orange bubblegum bounced out of the projector. _"You just have to chew it up and spit it out."_

"You chicas really come in handy sometimes." Augustus smiled.

The hologram bashed him with her ladle. _"Don't call me chica! I still want you to bow to me."_

"Screw you!" The hologram vanished. "I just have one problem, guys: I cannot spit well…" the captain said with embarrassment.

"You throw a jawbreaker with perfect aim, pilot a plane, and suck on lollipops all day, but spitting's out of the question…" Stewie configured.

"What pretty pebble?" Nel picked up the orange gum. "Nel taste." The cavegirl tossed it into her mouth and began chewing. "Ulp!" Her cheeks puffed with the burning sensation.

"Hang on, Nel!" Augustus picked up the child, holding her horizontally with his arms around her belly. He decided to approach the first Dodongo in the field, and when the dino opened its mouth to breathe fire, Augustus squeezed Nel and shot the gum out of her mouth like a bullet. It went down the Dodongo's throat, exploded, and knocked the creature out. "Guess what, Nel, you're the world's first projectile weapon!" He stuffed more Pop Gum into Nel's mouth to shoot into the other two Dodongos. He then decided to return to the edge of the plain, aim down at the Rocknut caveman's exposed rear, and shoot a Pop Gum at it to knock him out in one blast. The captain jumped down to retrieve the Wonka Bar and could bypass the caveman safely before jumping the platforms to get back up.

"Wait a sec, if they're called the Rocknut Tribe, do they have something to do with the Rock Nut?" Augustus asked.

"Nel don't know. But Rocknuts maybe not tell us."

The path to follow from the Dodongo plain was along the left, on a narrow walkway over a chasm. There was a Rocknut patrolling back and forth along the cliff, so when it was turned away, Augustus used his "Nel Launcher" to shoot the caveman's rear and send him falling. After crossing the walkway, the crew entered a dark cave that was lit by a fire deep inside. There was a short caveman with black hair and a large beard, wearing a red loincloth.

"It's Oogle Boogle!" Nel pointed. She jumped off Augustus's shoulders and said to it, "Oogle Boogle! Oog oonga, ooga booga, boongu nuguh?"

"Oog. Ooga looga booga boo."

"Gronka-lonka Oompa-Loompa Willy Wonka CHOCOLATE BAH!" Rallo shouted. "Hah ha! Caveman talk."

"Why little caveboy insult Oogle Boogle's mother?" Nel asked.

"THAT WHAT I SAID? !" Rallo screamed. "Tell 'im I didn't mean it! !"

"Oogle Boogle said he hungry. He want food that make him fat."

There was a tunnel up on a ledge behind the caveman, so Augustus climbed into it first, with Nel on his shoulders again. Torches lit this passage, and they could see the narrow bridge over the dark chasm. A Bargasaurus was guarding a bushel of Fudgepuffsicles, and when the dino charged at Augustus, he pushed back and channeled what he could of his Haki. He shoved the dino over the side into the pit, then grabbed a fudgesicle. He brought the inflating ice cream back to the Oogle Boogle, who happily took a bite. The caveman puffed up like a balloon and floated over a nearby spiked floor. He deflated over a platform with a switch, which he held down to make some areas on the spikes flip over to flat ground.

The Oogle waved at them in thanks as they jumped across the flat spaces. They made it to a pool of water, where Aisling was waiting. Since the Baby Trio plus Nel couldn't swim, Aisling and Augustus helped carry them underwater. After swimming through a tunnel, they got to a wider area where electric eels (called Frazzles) were swimming around, lighting the dark with their sparking bodies. The tunnel ahead was patrolled by Frazzles, so they deemed it too dangerous to enter. The crew was able to resurface, and Augustus saw a rugged wall that he could climb around to reach a high ledge. The captain swam to and climbed around this wall, and when Snapdragons obstructed his path, Maggie grabbed Nel and used her as a weapon to smash them.

After making it to the cliff, they found a pack of Pop Gum. Augustus poured them all into Nel's mouth as the child began chewing. "I'm guessing this stuff will work underwater." He held Nel in his arms while Maggie held his neck as he dove back underwater. He aimed Nel at the Frazzles and shot slow-coming Pop Gums that were effective enough to knock the eels out. There was an alternate left route, guarded by a Frazzle which Augustus shot with their last Pop Gum. On the surface above this tunnel was a Gold Wonka Bar. With that, they resumed the main path and surfaced in a new tunnel.

Aisling released Stewie and Rallo before running ahead once again. There was a huge dinosaur egg that Augustus could lift in his arms. He decided to take it with them as they exited the tunnel to a large area enclosed within walls. There was water in the chasm below, and a narrow stone bridge led to a sealed barred door. There was a switch by the door that the egg could hold down. When Augustus was about to carry it across- _"NNNNNRRRREEEEEE!"_ a dinosaur with a very long neck, brown backside and yellow underside, and ravenous green eyes, emerged from the water and unleashed a deafening roar. The captain backed up into the cave when the Chompasaurus attempted to snack on the egg.

"Dafaq is that thing? !" Augustus yelled.

"Chompasaurus like food that crosses their water." Nel said.

"I can't get this thing across with them sniffin' around. Maggie, is the powder in your gun dry, yet?"

"Mw-mw!" Maggie saluted. The crew peeked out into the gorge and saw a small ledge high up on their right. Maggie launched her grappling hook to the ledge and pulled herself up. Augustus carried the egg in both arms and began to balance across the bridge. The first Chompasaurus emerged from the water, giving its loud roar. Maggie aimed at its eye and shot, and the long-necked dino sank back down. Maggie kept defending her captain from other Chompasaurs until he made it to the other side. He set the egg on a switch as the gate opened.

His teammates caught up with him as they wandered onto a rugged plain with Lightfoots, which were yellow raptors that hopped around like rabbits. One jumped Augustus and took his glasses, another jumped Maggie and took her pacifier. The baby started bawling on the ground, and the sun hurt the captain's eyes. Since Nel confirmed these ones weren't her friends, she helped Augustus direct his vision to the Lightfoots so he could hit them with his Gobstopper. After recovering their stolen items, the pirates hopped up some natural stairs leading to a walkway along the wall over the field. A few Soarasaurs obstructed their progress, but the path led them to a cave guarded by a caveman wearing a purple loincloth and wielding a huge stone Q-tip.

"That Unga Bunga!" Nel pointed, crawling over to the caveman. "Ung dunga bunga?"

"Bug, bugga bugga, Unga Bunga!" He pointed at the future humans.

"Bug bugga?" Nel asked.

"Bug bugga."

Nel crawled back to her friends. "Unga said no can bring silly foot things in cave."

"You mean we can't even take 'em off and carry them?" Augustus questioned. "I don't even do sandals! Let's just go that way."

The cliffside walkway went farther, leading to a ladder where a Rocknut caveman guarded the top. They returned to the plain below, finding a crater in a corner where a Bargasaurus guarded a cave. Augustus dropped down and wrestled with the dinosaur, but there wasn't room in the crater to shove it aside. However, Stewie quickly ran into the cave to swipe the Pop Gum, then they escaped the crater. They returned to the ladder, but to expose the Rocknut's rear side, Rallo stuck his boombox in the wall and caused a tremor. The Rocknut fell headfirst over the ladder's edge and landed upside-down. Augustus used Nel to shoot his exposed rear and K.O. the caveman.

At the top of the ladder, they found Shrink Sweets placed on a rock. "Hey, if the four of us ate these, Nel could sneak us in the cave herself." the captain said.

"How can Nel help?" she asked.

"Watch this!" The four Marzipans each ate a piece of the candy and contracted down to jellybean size.

"Whoa!" Nel stared at them with awe. "Why is Aughsucks small now?"

 _"Will you stop calling me that! !"_ he squeaked angrily.

"Hee hee! Aughsucks sound like baby dactyl. But Nel thinks this work." She lifted the four mini humans and hid them in the empty sockets of the skull mask on her head. She climbed down the ladder and approached the Unga Bunga.

"You ditch weird cavemen?" His Cavetalk was clear in Nel's ears. "Okay. You good." He stepped aside so Nel could enter the torch-lit cave. There were Unga Bungas sitting at tables and coercing, some were playing poker using rocks with various symbols.

"Unga Bunga, Unga Bunga!" The next passage had parallel rows of the cavemen, holding large flat stones as they charged into and rammed their rocks into their counterparts' rocks, resulting in a booming collision. They wobbled back as the process repeated over and over. _"Is this some weird caveman game?"_ Augustus asked.

"Unga Bunga play Unga Bunga." Nel answered. "They smash bedrocks into each other until one falls. Nel will be careful." Nel waited for each group of cavemen to ram each other before moving forward. There were a few close shaves that made Nel's heart bounce, but she made it. She followed a new tunnel that led to a cave where the ground was covered with red sticks. There was an Unga Bunga asleep on the other side, holding a whip. Above him, an Oogle Boogle was trapped in a round bone cage.

If Nel stepped on the sticks, the Unga would wake and attack her with his whip. There were torches set around the red sticks, and Nel could grab the thin core on their pillars. She climbed around so her back faced the next torch, then she kicked off, whipped around, and clutched the pillar. She repeated the process until she was near the Oogle Boogle. "Me need food to regain strength. Find good rock." he said. Nel proceeded to jump the rest of the torches, and the last one that was close to the wall was next to a Ringtrot. Nel picked the Ringtrot out of the wall and jumped her way back to the Oogle. She handed the caged caveman the Ringtrot, so he began to suck it.

Filled with adrenaline, the Oogle Boogle ran around and around the round cage, spinning it as it flopped about in the air. The Unga Bunga awoke to the commotion, and he screamed when a chunk of the ceiling where the cage hung from collapsed and crushed him. The bone cage rolled and smashed a bone gate blocking a new tunnel on the left of the room. With the Unga defeated, Nel was free to walk around the red sticks. She could cross to and enter this cave, finding that it sloped upward. However, the only jumpable platforms were big torches. Nel felt the heat strongly as she was forced to balance along the sides of those torches, and her heart raced with being so close to these flames. When she jumped to a higher torch, she whirled her arms and stood on her tippy-toes in trying to stay balanced. _"Don't lose your cool, Nel, you can do it."_ Augustus told her.

Nel didn't know what that phrase meant, but she kept her steady posture and made it across the tunnel. She heard a creature jittering the bones of a large corpse at the end, and saw the back end of that grayish-white creature sticking out. When Nel got to it, the creature turned out to be Aisling, who looked up at her with a start before scampering out of the tunnel like a frightened kitty. Nel made it outside, and to her left was some Growth Gum on a rock. She put her tiny friends beside it so they could eat and stretch back to normal. "Thanks for the lift, Nel." Aughsucks patted her mask. "Have one of my lollipops."

He unwrapped a green lolli and gave it to Nel. …The cavegirl shoved it up her nose and pulled out a long string of snot. "And now I don't want any more." the captain said. "Too grossed out. My defining character trait, ruined."

He let the cavegirl ride his shoulders as they climbed up some natural stairs. They were at the base of Terry's mountain and could begin the climb up its precarious path. _"Uug-OOOOOOG!"_ There was shouting coming from the plains around the mountain, and they saw Rocknut Tribe members hauling catapults loaded with boulders. The cavemen began launching the boulders in attempt to hit the pirates, so they moved quickly and avoided them. Stewie put on a set of goggles that projected markings where the boulders would crash, and let his friends know where they were.

Some stalagmites blocked their path, so they had to trick the Rocknuts into launching boulders into them. They reached a dead end with some Bounce Gum. Augustus saw a crack in the wall above them, so he bounced level with that crack so the Rocknuts would try to hit him, and smash the wall open. The five explorers bounced up into this opening, where they could climb a rugged wall. There were holes in the parallel wall, which the Rocknuts flung their boulders through in further attempt to smash them.

There was an exit back onto the mountain path up top, and a Bargasaurus was guarding a route between the wall and a shorter wall. The shorter wall prevented Augustus from shoving it off the edge, so the captain pushed it all the way back against the protective barricade of the next turn. There was an opening in the other barricade, and the Bargasaur was struck by the Rocknuts' boulder. The explorers found Aisling by the entrance of a tunnel into the mountain, but before entering, Augustus sidled across a thin ledge past the entrance. A boulder crashed into a cracked part and exposed a Gold Wonka Bar, so the captain collected it before accompanying his friends into the tunnel. (End song.)

"Thanks once again for helpin' us through all that, Lazy Fairy." Augustus told Aisling with sarcasm.

"I helped those two swim, didn't I?" Aisling replied angrily.

"This cave take us to mountaintop." Nel said as the tunnel sloped upward. "Maybe we get rock before Terry come home."

"I still don't understand why Nel is the only caveperson that knows English." Aisling said. "It's so… unnatural!"

"But it's still the least unnatural thing I can think of." Augustus said.

At the end of the cave, they were at the top of the mountain, just below the giant bird nest. They found an entrance to the nest, seeing four huge eggs lain inside. "Nel found rock in middle of nest." She pointed. Augustus approached and moved the sticks aside, finding a round, flattish stone with an empty core. "That it!"

"This is the Rock Nut?" Augustus asked, picking up the heavy sweet.

"Mw mw!" Maggie beamed.

"You're right, it looks like a doughnut!" Stewie realized.

"So the first candy was a doughnut? …Well, this is going in the Adventure Databook!" Augustus licked the rock. "It really is tasty! !"

 _"REEEEEEK!"_ They were almost deafened by the screech of a massive, light-brown pterodactyl with green eyes. The reptile suddenly snatched the Rock Nut in its long and pointy mouth, swallowing it.

"YOU STUPID PERRA DE AVES! GIVE THAT BACK!" Augustus yelled.

 _"Raaaaaaaet! RAAAAAET!"_ Terry shouted.

"He's calling us Rocknuts!" Aisling yelled. "He thinks we're with the Rocknut Tribe!"

"Tell him we're not!"

"All right! Ah-ACK, ACK, AAAAHH!"

 _"RAAAAAACK!"_

"He won't listen; he thinks we're trying to hurt his babies!"

"Watch out!" Augustus yelled. (Play Terry's Theme from _Banjo-Tooie_.)

 _Boss fight: Terry_

The prehistoric avian hacked giant globs of spit that would leave the humans sticky and immobile if they were struck. Maggie's bullets didn't have effect on the reptile, and Augustus's Gobstopper bounced right back. However, after spitting seven globs, the pterodactyl had to catch his breath. Augustus chucked the Gobstopper up his throat, causing Terry to choke. He managed to cough the jawbreaker out, along with a Life Projector that released some Pop Gum. Augustus smirked, filling Nel with the spicy sweets and helping her chew. He aimed the Nel Launcher up at Terry, squeezed her, and damaged the reptile with the explosive candy.

The dinosaur decided to fly below the mountain and come back up with three Bargasaurs. He trusted the dinos to fight them while he returned down for a drink of water. Aisling turned into a Bargasaur herself and wrestled with one, Rallo attacked the other with his boombox, leaving Augustus to shove against the third one. "Agh!" The dinosaur knocked him off his feet, and when it tried to bite the captain, he tricked it into biting the Gobstopper. In the Bargasaur's weakened moment, Augustus threw punches against its side, trying to force the Haki to present itself. The dino was knocked out anyway, just in time for Terry to return.

The pterodactyl was carrying a giant boulder, and the kids avoided when it dropped down and shattered. Terry hacked more big globs of spit, but he still had no luck in trapping any of the pirates. Terry flew directly above Augustus, faced down, and spun around in attempt to pierce the human like a drill. Augustus dodged, watching Terry drill the spot for a sec, then the dactyl tried again. Augustus got beside one of his eggs, so when Terry drilled down, he immediately halted and flapped upright.

Since he was low enough, Augustus was able to jump up and grab his talons. The reptile tried to shake him off, soaring around the sky. Augustus climbed up to Terry's head, and the avian failed to shake him as the captain punched the point of his head four times. Augustus clutched the head's point and steered Terry like a plane, ramming him against the mountainside. The dactyl recovered and floated back up while Augustus dropped to the path above the nest's side. Terry barfed a stream of drool into his nest, rendering the Baby Trio incapacitated in the thick liquid.

Augustus kept standing on the edge with Nel on his shoulders. The avian kept changing position and flapping his wings rapidly to blow his enemies off. He stopped, and while Augustus was trying to recompose, the dinosaur swooped across the edge and caught Augustus on his long nose. The captain punched the pterodactyl several times in the eyes, and when Nel hacked her own stream of spit over his eyes, Terry spun around and drilled downward. He cut a hole into the nest's floor, draining his pool of drool and rescuing the Baby Trio.

Augustus hopped back on the nest floor and noticed one last Pop Gum through the twigs. He fed it to Nel, then faced her up when Terry hovered above. The dactyl opened his mouth wide and swooped down to gulp, but August shot the gum up his throat. The gum popped, and Terry fell on his back. Augustus set Nel down and climbed back onto the nest's side. He balled his fists together, leapt high above, and cried, "Double Iron KNUCKLE!" His fists turned Armament as he smashed down on Terry's belly. (End song.)

The Rock Nut flew out of the bird's mouth. Augustus picked up and held the stone sweet in victory. They heard cracking sounds and looked to see the eggs finally hatching. Adorable, pink baby pterodactyls peeped out and began chirping. _"Eeeerrrk…"_ Terry grunted.

"He said, 'Don't hurt my babies. Please don't hurt them.'" Aisling translated.

"We're not here to hurt your babies." Augustus replied. "We just wanted this rock. Is it that important to you?"

"'I took that rock from the Rocknut Tribe because they used its strange power to enhance their armor. They used it to kill my wife. I won't let them use it to hurt my babies.'"

"…That's why…" Augustus stared at the stone doughnut. A strange power…?

"Ug! Ug, uug!" They looked at the nest's entrance: a trio of Rocknuts had appeared.

"So you guys've been using this nut to bully people? !" the captain yelled.

"(Many thanks beat Terry for us.)" a Rocknut said with a smirk (Nel translated). "(We take Rock Nut now. Rocknut Tribe rule world.)"

Augustus dropped the rock and marched toward them. "Like Hell you will."

"Aughsucks, no!" Nel cried.

"(Aughsucks, you strong. Maybe you join us.)"

Augustus balled his right fist and turned it Armament. "Sorry, but you're a hundred million years too soon!" He PUNCHED the caveman through his armor, shattering the stone garb as he went flying off the mountain.

"UUUUUH!" The Rocknuts gaped.

"Remember my name throughout history! I am Augustus, the Stone Fist!" _Hope you don't mind, I drew inspiration from you, Sheila. I could never punch as hard as you, though._

The Rocknuts panicked and ran all the way down the mountain. Augustus went back to pick up the Rock Nut, smiling at Terry. "You take care of your kids now. And if those lugs ever come back, I'll club 'em for ya."

 _"Eeeek…"_ Terry smiled. ("Thanks…")

 **Nel's cave**

The explorers made the tedious journey back to Nel's cave, where they pulled the _Ace Flyer_ back outside. "We couldn't have found it without you, Nel. Consider yourself the _first_ member in history to be a Marzipan Pirate."

"Nel so happy!" She clapped. "Nel always be Aughsucks friend."

"Y…yeah." Augustus blushed. "Can we go now?"

"I'll help with that." Aisling sat on the ground and opened her book. "I know a bit of Time Magic, too, thanks to Celebi. I can return us to the present. Ahem… _Father… take us home… Father… take us home…"_ A magic circle began to encase them. Clock hands spun around it. _"Send us… to the place… we belong…"_

Aisling repeated the verse in her angelic voice. The circle shone brighter, and in a loud _WHIIIIRRRR_ , the whiteness engulfed them.

 **Neighborhood street**

They reappeared on the street of an unknown neighborhood. The morning sun was rising. "Finally." Augustus said, holding the Rock Nut up to bask in the light. "The first Lost Candy. What would Luviro think…"

Aisling stretched her arms and flexed her fingers. "At any rate, it seems my strength has recovered. It was a pleasure traveling with you, humans. But now I must bid adieu."

"Well, Forest Fairy… thanks for all the help you've given us." Augustus said. "But why were you suddenly so interested in helping us find the Rock Nut?"

"For a number of reasons that I think it's too dangerous to explain to you now. But rest assured, you will learn everything later. Just promise us you will find the rest of the Lost Candies before this month ends."

"You can count on that." Augustus nodded assuredly.

"Good. Anyway… Princess Mavis will be hosting her tea party soon, so I must get back to Galaxia." Aisling sprouted a huge pair of bug-like wings. She lifted off the ground when they began flapping. "Before I go, perhaps I can give you a hint. One of my friends resides in the sea kingdom of Oceana. She may be able to help you if you spoke to her. Good-bye, Captain Augustus. May the winds of fate blow in your favor." She flew into the sky.

"Auf Wiedersehen, smelly fairy!" Augustus waved. "Sigh, well she was fun." ( _"Aaaaahhh-"_ a distant scream was rising.) "Where did she warp us, anyw-"

"-AAAAAAAAHHHH!" A furious German woman KICKED Augustus like a ball and sent him flying against a street sign that read _Drury_. "AUGUSTUS, YOU STUPID POPEL!" Henrietta grabbed her dizzy son by the vest and shook him violently. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been about you, you little TRASH COMPACTOR? !"

"Is Augustus making that look because he's hurt, or he's thrilled?" Stewie questioned.

"Still ain't as scary as my mama." Rallo said.

"Mw-mw." Maggie was tired of their childish responses.

Henrietta whipped her head toward them, scaring the babies. "And VHY are you hanging around Big Mam's Triplet Trio? !" She then looked at the biplane. "And VHAT did you do to your fazer's PLANE? ! Take it through ze KESSEL RUN?" Henrietta let the teen drop on the street before approaching the damaged plane. "I don't vant to imagine where to begin-" She lightly knocked the plane with her knuckle, and the back compartment opened as a small, soot-covered creature with big hazel eyes tumbled out. "Cough!" Nel coughed.

 _"Aaaaaaack…"_ The four pirates gaped.

The cavegirl sniffed Henrietta's boots, looking up the woman's body. "Big cavewoman smell like Aughsucks. Is woman Aughsucks' mate?"

"Who the heck is this?" Heinie asked.

"Uhhh… cavegirl we brought back from the past." Augustus replied with a nervous grin.

". . . . . I am going zo execute you."

"Hehe. What can you do?" Augustus grinned and began another lollipop.

"Why is Aughsucks eating snot stick?" Nel asked.

"BLEEEEEHHHH!" He puked.

 ** _Boogey Bay_**

Cindy Cortix, the orange-haired daughter of Captain Mandy, was peeling the skin off stuffed dolls in her cabin. "Stupid Mom… won't let me hunt for Augustus. Doesn't think _I_ can catch prey as well as Azula… thinks I'm too unstable. Why does she THINK that?" She ripped a doll's head off. Cindy sighed and walked up to her dresser mirror, staring at her reflection with a sad look. "I can kill enemies, too. I can create evil and mayhem. But Mom doesn't think that. Why doesn't she believe in me? Isn't there anything I can do?…"

She stared at her reflection as though expecting an answer. She looked into her own upset eyes and sought pity. …The mirror began to wobble, and a perky, smiling girl replaced her reflection. Cindy stared with the utmost weirdness. She wasn't prepared when a snake came out of the mirror and pulled her inside.

* * *

 **That whole level was _Banjo-Tooie_ inspired, 'cause that's where Terry and all those cavemen come from. The next chapter will be a big one, so stay tuned. Kids, don't stare at mirrors too long.**


	14. Dark Triumphs Light

**I think we've all been waiting for something like this.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-14: Dark Triumphs Light_**

 **Negaverse; Ydnic's House**

"AAAAH!" Cindy Cortix fell out of a dresser mirror. When the redheaded girl recovered, she viewed around and saw she was in a bright and cheerful room, full of stuffed ponies, elf dolls, teacups, and a bed with a rainbow backside. "Hi there!" said a perky voice that sounded like Cindy's. She looked at the owner of this atrocious room: a girl with shiny, smooth orange hair, no nose, a pink dress, white leggings, and pink strap-on shoes. Her smile was creepily big. "You must be my Positive."

"Y- You're whuh…?" Cindy stared closer at the girl. No nose, dark eyes, she did kind of look like… "N-No no, that's crazy." Cindy shook the thought off. "There's only one me, and even if there were more of me, they would be more _like_ me, not some…some…" She looked sickeningly at the Negative, gesturing with her hands, "whatever THIS is!"

"Hee hee hee!" Ydnic giggled. "You're really silly! I bet we're going to get along great!"

"What am I even doing here?" Cindy asked, helping herself up. "Did you tell that giant snake to pull me in here?"

"No she didn't. I did." Both girls turned to the room's entrance. Medusa entered, possessing her human body. "For a while, I was afraid that it would take some extra work to locate Ydnic's Positive. How convenient she was looking at the same dresser."

"Who's this creepy lady?" Cindy asked.

"She's Lady Medusa!" Ydnic introduced brightly. "She wanted us to be together during an important plan of hers."

"And who said _I_ wanted to be part of some plan?"

" _Because_ , you ignorant brat, I'm about to give you a place in Pirate History!" Medusa declared.

"What do you mean?"

"Weren't you complaining, just moments ago, about how your own mother has doubt in your relentlessness and fortitude? I want to give you the chance to make her see differently. And this will be how: You know about Davy Jones, correct?"

"Davy Jones? Of course I know him. My mom saw Davy Jones _himself_. She wasn't afraid of him, so I'm not, either."

"Oh, your mom saw Davy Jones, how nice." Medusa feigned interest in her voice. "But how would you like to take it one step further? How would you like to _be_ with Davy Jones…" her eyes narrowed viciously, "as he falls into depravity!"

"What?" 

"Cindy, you own your own ship in the Boogey Fleet, correct?" Cindy nodded. "Take your Negative with you back to the Posiverse and follow these coordinates." Medusa gave the girl a map. "I'll meet you there." The goddess vanished in a Dark Portal. Cindy stared at the map, which had an "X" marked in the Indian Ocean.

 **Posiverse; south of Indian Ocean**

"Oh, Em, Gee!" Ydnic Xitroc stood on the keel of Cindy's ship, which was aptly called the _Boogey Pool_ , much smaller than Mandy's flagship. A gentle breeze was blowing the Negative's hair, and faint sunlight poked through the cloudy sky. "The Posiverse is so wonderful! I never thought air could smell this nice, especially on the sea! Hey, but won't your mom be mad at you for taking one of her ships?"

"This is MY ship!" Cindy snarled; her spiteful expression and dark armor made her greatly contrast with Ydnic. "Not my mom's! And no one's gonna rat me out because the only pirates on this boat are dead animals. YOU!" She shot a Scare Stare toward the undead black licorice hyenas. "Make the boat go faster!" Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed quickly scampered off to follow their order.

"You like animals, too? ?" Ydnic gazed at her with bulbous eyes. "You and me have _soooo_ much in common!"

"DON'T be silly! Animals are _slobbery_ … icky… messy… THINGS!" As Cindy said this, a little skeleton dog trotted over, panting happily at her master. "Even if you don't make saliva anymore, Saliva. Go hang out on the sails with Milkshakes."

A pink skeleton cat was frightfully clutching the top board of the mast sail. _"Mew."_

"Well, in case you're interested, I'm a member of DNK Sector -W." Ydnic said. "I actually joined a month ago, it was a little after the DNKG thing. One of my cousin's team members turned traitor, and I wanted to fill her shoes! Ha ha ha!"

"Hmph. My cousins all work for the KND. But I don't really care. I don't work well in teams. It's easier just to order people to do everything with fear. My mom always said fear was the strongest element."

"Sure, it's easy to make people afraid of you." Ydnic frowned for a bit. "But the _better_ solution is to make them do what you say with LOOOOOVE." She folded her hands and swayed her hip, making a goofy smile.

Cindy puked over the railing. "Please… never do that again."

The ship made it to the island that Medusa had marked. It was a deserted, jungle island, and a set of arrow signs directed the girls to a hatch in the ground. They entered this underground chamber and saw Medusa standing next to a chamber machine. "So glad you girls could make it." she said. "You're probably wondering what this is. Well, this is a time machine used by the Big Mom Pirates not so long ago. And I set its coordinates to take you back 300 years. Before Davy Jones lost his humanity."

"Yeah, so what?" Cindy asked.

Medusa smirked. "You lovely young ladies will be the deciders of his fate! Cindy's dark soul and fearbending contrasting with Ydnic's bright and ironically-positive outlook is a perfect conflict between Light and Darkness! I want Davy Jones to be swallowed in the middle. The side that is most influential will decide the fate for him, and all of his hapless future victims!"

Ydnic gasped loudly. "You want us to alter the TIMELINE? ! Medusa, is this part of the deal you promised Nerehc?"

"Davy Jones is one of the Thirteen Darknesses. In order to awaken himself, he must be deserving of the title. His Dark Side must prevail. And to ensure that it does, I must prove that Darkness conquers Light. You two are the perfect candidates for doing that."

"Fine!" Ydnic declared with passion. "Not only will I show you that good triumphs over evil, I'll teach Ms. Sour Face here that, too!"

"Hmph. We'll see about that." Cindy scoffed.

"So you both accept my challenge, terrific. Step into the time machine, if you will." Medusa stepped aside.

The two counterparts entered the chamber, and one of Medusa's snakes activated the device. In a surge of blue light, the girls were transported.

 **Somewhere on the sea; 340 years ago…**

A battle was taking place at high noon. The ship's cannons boomed incessantly, rounds after rounds of gunfire striking the monsters that threatened their vessel. One of these demons – a seaweed-colored seasnake with a skull mask – wrapped its body around the ship and screeched loudly. One of the crewmen – a man with a squished flat nose and slit narrow eyes, wearing a hat that looked like a hammer – leapt up and headbutted the snake's skull mask with enough force to break it. The creature dispersed into dark particles.

 _First mate of the_ Flying Dutchman

 _MACCUS the Hammerhead_

Maccus looked to the portside and saw a massive two-headed barracuda, both with skull masks, speeding toward them. "CAP'N, we 'ave two on the port! Er, one! Er, maybe it's one-and-a-ha-"

The captain jumped at the railing, whooshed his arms right, and sliced a huge line of ocean water to cut both the monster's heads and destroy it. The captain turned back to his mate with a smirk. He had eyes blue as the sea, pale blonde hair, and wore a brown jacket. "Spend less time counting and more time smashing, Maccus-ah! Hah ha ha ha!" He spoke with a Scottish accent.

 _Captain of the_ Flying Dutchman

 _"Heart of the Sea"_

 _DAVY JONES_

A crewman with bloated cheeks lashed twin spike whips to slash away skull-faced swordfish that leapt at the deck. "Captain, they're beginning to swim away."

 _Navigator of the_ Flying Dutchman

 _"Puffy Cheeks" KOLENIKO_

"Do not be fooled, Mistah Koleniko." Jones said. "Direct your eyes beyond the bow."

The swarm of monstrous dark fish were molding into a dark glob. A single, gigantic skull mask faced the little ship with eerie blank eye sockets, and black tentacles emerged. "I'll load the triple guns!" Ogilvey, a man with a grey beard and mustache, and red neckerchief, shouted.

"Not necessary, Mr. Ogilvey." Jones replied. "They have fallen for my trap."

The ship sailed a little closer as the captain jumped onto the keel. Waving his arms in circles, two columns of water began to rise under his bending. He directed the columns to tie around the dark octopus. His hands glowed, and the water turned gold. The octopus screeched as its body dispersed into particles of light. The particles floated to the sky and vanished in the sunlight.

Davy Jones jumped back on the deck as his crewmates approached him with praise and admiration. "Ay've never seen that before, Captain!" Clanker exclaimed. "Where would you learn a fancy lightshow like that?"

"The Fairy Princess taught it to me." Jones replied, smiling nonchalantly.

"The blue lass? She's the one who taught it?" Koleniko asked.

"Well, she gave it to me." Jones stared at his right hand. "It's called spiritbending. It's an advanced form of the healing powers she grants to waterbenders. It scatters dark spirits into light so they may be reborn anew in the Spirit World-ah."

"Sounds a right fair deal." Morey the Eel said. He was a long-necked human, from the Bermuda Triangle's Snakeneck Tribe. "With all the Hollows that've been appearing lately, we need a new way to trim them down."

"'ey Captain, isn't tomorrow the ten-year mark?" one of Two Head's two heads asked. "Where we going to make land?"

"I am thankful you asked, Mistah Sack." Jones said as he pulled out and opened a chart. "I remember seeing an uncharted island in this quadrant." There was an "X" marked on a spot a little southeast from Iceland. "We will see what its land has to offer."

"That little piece of land?" Maccus asked. "Wouldn't you rather hit a town, Captain? Fetch a decent meal and drink with your mates in a pub? You'd get as much shrub from that jungle as seaweed on the seafloor!"

"In an eternity of sailing, there is only so much land you can see in all the worlds. Had we limited our choices, we would not have discovered Mr. Morey's home now, would we?" He looked at the Snakeneck human. "We will mount an expedition over this island in search of what riches it may bare. Besides, Lord Kyogre is looking for good places to hide his Ocean Talismans, in case he would need to."

 **At the designated island; the next morning**

The _Flying Dutchman_ docked at the cliff shore of what would one day become Bully Island. The plank was dropped to serve as a bridge. Davy Jones crossed the plank, and set foot on the island. The sailors ventured into the jungle, which seemed to grow darker the further they got. The ground and trees were almost covered with fungi that emitted a visible, bluish-pink gas. "What do you suppose that is, Cap'n?" Maccus asked.

"Do not get too close to it, boys." Jones threw water over one of the mushrooms and pulled it over while encasing it in ice. "Only one is needed for careful observation-ah. Spread out and search the rest of the island."

Davy Jones trekked up a hill in his thick black boots. The frozen fungus was stashed in a pocket under his coat. The path was hard to see through all the flora and the dark shroud that seemed to be covering this land. Then, with a few more meters of hill in his sight, a faint red light touched him. He saw an odd shape in the center of the light. The jungle's shroud made it indiscernible, but with a closer look, it appeared to be… a woman.

Davy Jones marched up and saw her up close. She was a woman with purple hair drooped over her eyes, a purple dress, and bare feet hanging over the edge of a murky pool. Davy Jones slowly reached his right hand over to move her hair aside. She had a smooth and flawless face, except for a black design around her left eye. Her eyes were sharp, green, and snakelike, and she had sensual purple lips. The woman looked up into Jones' cool blue eyes. They reflected her image like mirrors. Davy Jones stared at her longingly… he saw himself reflected in those shiny dark pupils. He had never seen a human so… lovely.

"If you were looking for the perfect place to molest somebody, I'd say you've found it." The woman told him softly.

"Oh!" Jones blushed and backed away. "I'm… sorry… My name is Davy Jones. Servant of Lord Kyogre and Ferrier of Souls. I chose to explore this island on my once-a-decade expedition. I did not expect to find anyone here, much less a…" He couldn't decide between 'woman,' 'angel,' or 'goddess.' "Who are you?"

"Something… Nothing…" The woman looked away. "A being that was…"

That mysterious response was sexy, Jones thought. "Wh… Where are you from?"

"Somewhere… Nowhere… The darkest reaches of the cosmos…"

". . ." Jones didn't understand why he heated up at such a vague response. "Then can ya tell me why… you're here?"

The woman remained silent and looked up at him. Jones felt himself lost in her gaze. "Have you ever looked in your own reflection," the woman said, "…and saw something awful?"

When Jones blinked, the reflection in her pupils was all wiggly, slimy tentacles. He shook his head, and this reflection vanished. "I do not understand." Jones said. "If you are referring to yourself, I do not see what you see. You are… a beautiful woman…"

"Are you certain?" she asked. "Come… let me show you something…"

The woman led him to a cliff that overlooked another region of jungle, and the sea beyond it. The sky and sea were purple, lit up only by the white sun. Davy Jones was drawn by this change in color, and the woman sensed this. "The mushrooms on this island emit a noxious gas that misleads the senses. Deep down… I have always pictured myself as beautiful… And this island, this… _horrible_ rotting island… In its midst, I can see that beauty in me. It's so… grotesque." She turned to him. "Davy Jones… Have you come here because… you sought beauty?"

"N-No, I… I've already found beauty." Jones smiled. "It is the _sea_. It is…" The captain reached an arm toward the purple horizon, "an _absolute_ freedom. To sail the waters, over and under… for eternity. I collect souls who are lost and guide them to the next world. I meet a great many people in my adventures. All of them were troubled souls… up until the moment they drowned. No matter who they were or what they had done… it brings me joy… to offer them an escape… To offer them freedom…"

"Freedom?" the woman questioned. "Then let me ask you… what is freedom, in your eyes? Is it being untethered? Sailing a ship across worlds for all eternity? Is it… not being bound to anyone or anything? Do you… have that sort of freedom?"

Jones couldn't think of a response. True, he was working under Kyogre, collecting souls that were lost at sea, cleansing them before they became Hollows. "Because I do." The woman said. "I have nobody… I have nothing… Only myself in eternal solitude… And every day, I feel my soul greying… Freedom… is lonely…"

Jones gripped her arm in his left hand, as hard as a crab claw (obvious foreshadowing :P). He looked at her firmly in the eyes. "Freedom is more than that. It is not being unbound and untethered… it is the happiness I feel in sailing. All of the time in the world to do what I love, forever. If you came with me, I could show you."

"…" The woman stared at him, as though touched by the passion in his words. There was an inviting aura about him… She wanted to take his offer… "No." She turned away, tears streaming her face. "I…I mustn't!" She jumped off the cliff.

"Wait-ah!" Davy Jones jumped after, grabbing a jagged rock with water tentacles to slow his fall. The sailor chased the woman through the thick shrubs, able to see only part of her in this darkness. He heard a splash up ahead, and when Davy Jones arrived at a coast, his instinct was to jump into the sea. He swam like a merman, skimming the underwater for a trace of that maiden. There wasn't a trail of bubbles or waves on the surface, so Jones swam aimlessly in his attempts to find her.

Davy Jones finally resurfaced. The ocean was very foggy, he had no idea how far he swam. He lost any hope of finding the maiden, began to think she was just an illusion.

 _Upon one summer's morning, I carelessly did stray_

 _Down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay_

Then he heard her soft voice. He saw where it was coming from. A figure's shadow, sitting on a lone rock.

 _Conversing with a bouncing lass, who seemed to be in pain,_

 _Saying, William, when you go, I fear you will ne'er return again._

Davy Jones swam closer. It was the very same maiden, swaying her trim, flawless legs in the water. The captain could have assumed she was a siren… for he swam closer at the luring sound of her voice.

 _My heart is pierced by Cupid… I disdain all glittering gold…_

The woman stared down at the man in the water.

 _There is nothing… can console me…_

Jones gazed up at her lovely figure.

 _…but my jolly… sailor… bold._

Jones lightly clasped her legs… He pulled himself up… clasped her arms… put his foot on the side of the rock-

"AAAAAUUUUHHH!" Searing pain coursed through him as he fell in the sea. He shook to recompose himself and resurface. The woman bore slight shock on her features. "My… is that the limit of your freedom?" she whispered.

"Please!" Jones propped his feet on the ground under the water, so his upper half was visible. "Tell me… what are you…"

The woman fell in the sea and floated away on her back, her arms outstretched. "Like I said… I'm something… I'm nothing… I can't define what I am…"

"You are a lingering soul!" Jones trudged across the water and stood over her. "I can feel it… the energy in your body… but you are… different… There is a different presence about you…"

The woman stood and moved her face close to his. "Tell me… what that presence is…"

"I…I do not know…"

The woman became sad. She hugged her chest and turned away. "Oh… forgive me… I just thought… someone would actually know the answer…"

"I…I want to know the answer!" Jones reached his left arm to her. "It's there… on the palm of my hand… but I cannot…"

She turned to him with a smile. "I believe you… And if you're able to come up with the answer… I want to meet you again…" Then she drifted away beyond the mist.

Davy Jones stared at the blank gray where she had gone. The mist started to clear, and the captain felt something make waves behind him. _"OIIII! CAPTAIN!"_ Jones turned around and looked up at his _Flying Dutchman_. "What in blazes got into you? ! Jumping off the island, whaddid you trip or something? You know you only get ONE shot at land every 10 years! What sort of spirit possessed you to waste it like that?"

 _My heart is pierced by Cupid… I disdain all glittering gold…_

Jones looked at the horizon.

 _There is nothing… can console me…_

 _…but my jolly… sailor… bold._

"Captain?" Maccus noticed his blank expression. What in the world was wrong with him…

Although the crewmen couldn't hear it, Davy Jones sailed the ship in the direction of the voice. They came upon the shore of a dark, dead swamp, where the woman's notes echoed from beyond the mist. "Captain…" Maccus spoke once more.

Jones reached his left hand and clutched the air. "Wait for me…"

 **9 years and 360 days later…**

Cindy Cortix and Ydnic Xitroc finally materialized from the time warp. "Cindy?" Ydnic looked down.

"Yeah?" The Positive cocked a brow.

"Do time machines give us the ability to float?"

"That's the most ridiculous idea ever."

"I was afraid of that."

"AAAAHHH!" The standing-in-midair girls took the fall into the sea. After resurfacing, they felt a shadow fall over them, cast by a great ship with a mouth of sharp teeth on the keel.

"'ey, there's some wee lasses over the starboard!" Morey yelled.

"Pull them up!" Clanker ordered.

A rope was thrown down for the girls to grab onto, and the sailors hoisted them onto the deck. "What's all this?" the captain's sturdy black boots clanked the wood as he stomped past his crewmen to view the salvaged girls. Still lying down, Cindy and Ydnic gazed up at the captain's imposing, authoritive figure. The sun hung directly above and highlighted the Scottish man.

Cindy jumped to her feet and drew her sword. "Don't try anything! I'll cut every one of you up, I swear!"

The sailors exchanged laughter. "Oi, wee lass thinks she's a pirate!" Koleniko exclaimed.

"Maybe she's one of those Linlin blokes!" Jimmy Legs cackled.

"I MEAN IT!" Cindy shouted. "Just who the heck are you drunken idiots? !"

"I should be asking _you_ that, children adrift in the middle of the sea." The captain smirked. "You stand before the crew of the _Flying Dutchman_ -ah. I am Captain Davy Jones, the Ferrier of Souls."

"Davy…Davy Jones?" Cindy wouldn't have recognized the sailor's human appearance.

"Are you guys pirates, too?" Ydnic questioned. Her cheeks puffed as she said, "I HATE pirates. They're always being so mean, attacking villages just to steal beer or money or… vegetables."

"Then why are you still hanging around me?"

"Because you're my Positive, silly!" Ydnic pinched Cindy's cheek. "Even though you act more negative."

"We are not pirates-ah." Jones answered. "Under orders of Ocean King Kyogre, we sail the waters and ferry lost souls to the Underworld."

"Otherwise, we're just your typical guys who like sailing." Jimmy shrugged.

"So who are you two kids?" Maccus asked. "You look a little too lively to be lost souls."

"I am Cindy Cortix, a feared member of the world-infamous Boogey Pirates!" the girl announced. "This is some girl who thinks she's my twin."

"Boogey Pirates? Well, I've never heard of them." Jones shrugged. "And I'd certainly never expect a couple of children to pose as pirates."

"Well, I AM a pirate! And I'll make you fear me! LIKE THIS!" Cindy unleashed a deafening Fear Scream, the sailors stumbling back and clamping their ears shut.

Once she stopped, Jones looked at her with interest. "You're a fearbender?"

"Oh, NOW ya've gone and done it." Koleniko remarked.

"This is perfect!" Jones said excitedly. "The universe really is seeing in my favor-ah!"

"What do you mean?" asked Ydnic.

"Well, ten years ago, the captain thinks he saw this fair wench." Maccus explained. "'e said 'e heard her singing from the Haunted Marshes. He's been waiting ten years to be able to scour that land."

"It's said that swamp is flowing with Fear Chi." Koleniko said. "More than a man can handle. You would need to have a fearbender with you to cross it."

"We ain't gonna bring you kids on such a silly expedition. You probably wanna get back home to your mommy." Morey followed.

"HEY!" Cindy yelled. "'Mommies'! Plural!"

"Hold on, why does he need to cross the marshes again?" Ydnic asked.

The crewmen looked at Davy Jones, expecting to once-again hear his crazy story. The captain approached the starboard railing and stared out at the horizon. "In my whole life, I have never imagined anything more beautiful than the sea. I _loved_ the sea… and I thought, if I were one with the sea, if the sea was all I had, then I would be free and happy forever. And yet…" Jones put a hand to his heart, "ever since I met that woman… I cannot stop yearning for her. Never had I encountered a soul so… clouded inside. Our meeting… my thoughts… I feel as though we are bound by fate. …I want to meet her again…"

"That's sooooooo romantiiiiic!" Ydnic sang. "A lonely sailor goes to meet his beloved after teeeen loooong yeeeaaars of seasickness! Cindy, we HAVE to help him!"

"Hmph…" Cindy could care less, but this was probably part of the experiment Medusa had in mind. "All right. I'll use my fearbending to help you."

"I'll get you ALL spick and span for your big date!" Ydnic said cheerily. "Just pick up that toothbrush, hop in that bathtub, get a good night's rest on your bed, and your lady won't WAIT to kiss you!"

"What's a toothbrush?" Maccus asked.

"What's a bathtub?" Clanker asked.

"What's a bed?" Two Head asked.

"Captain, are you sure you want to try to find this woman?" Koleniko asked. "Even if she's real, why would she still be hanging around that filthy swamp?"

"There must be a reason we were fortunate enough to sail upon these children." Jones replied. "It was fated that I should meet her again. Mastah Legs, chart a course for the Haunted Marshes. I expect to be there within five days. Young ladies, do make yourselves comfortable."

 **Two nights later…**

The twin girls were treated friendly by the would-be Dutchman Pirates, and their bright spirits greatly contrasted with the tales Cindy has heard. The girls were told a first-hand iteration of how their captain came to have his position: when sailing in a region they had dubbed the "Haunted Cove," his ship was wrecked and destroyed, and Jones became a spirit. His soul was rescued by Ocean King Kyogre, who took pity and gave the sailor a chance to sail forever:

Jones was given a Gigai, an artificial human body that had the same attributes as a normal body, but it wouldn't age. Complete with the Water Chi he had once possessed, Jones was free to sail the seas, and in return would ferry other fallen souls to the Underworld. The crewmen on his vessel were other souls who had desired to sail forever, so they were given their own Gigai. The only limits placed on Davy Jones' eternity were that he couldn't step on dry land but once every 10 years. Otherwise, a searing but non-fatal pain would course through him.

"If ya ask me, I always thought Lord Kyogre was jealous of the Light Goddess, Palutena." Maccus remarked to Ydnic, who sat at a cabin table with some crewmen. "She has her own Nimbi servant, so _he_ wanted one. And rumor has it mermen are real sour with Nimbi!" The mates cackled.

"It's not just a rumor, it's real!" Ydnic spoke up. "They're always so mean to each other! All the Nimbis' waste falls in the ocean, then the merpeople fly up in their ships and start bombing the Nimbi, it's so awful!"

"What kind of twisted tales does your mommy read to you? ?" Koleniko questioned.

"Social studies textbooks!" Ydnic replied more perkily.

"In my opinion, Kyogre's got loneliness issues." Morey said. "He's got, like, _no_ friends besides the captain and that Ocean Fairy. I walked in on 'em when we visited the palace once, and he was practically _begging_ her to dance for the guards' kids. Hah, it was silly."

 _"He's so desperate for friends, he'll trust anyone!"_ Two Head's heads said at once.

"That's not really a bad thing." Ydnic replied. "It's important to be able to trust people. When you're trusting, you're more open, and you can make more friends that'll help you when you need them. Even if I was a king like Kyogre, I wouldn't wanna lose any of my friends. Because sooner or later, I would want someone to hold my hand and say, 'I'm here for you.'" She cupped both hands over her heart.

"That was…" Two Head's right head, Sack asked.

"-beautiful…" The left head, Flour was tearing.

"Mates, this girl is delightful!" Clanker plopped a hand on Ydnic's hair. "I say we keep her in our crew!"

"Don't be silly, we're only takin' 'em with us so the captain can find that girl." Maccus replied. "Where is the captain, anyway?"

"Last I saw, he's takin' a smoke on the deck." Clanker said.

The sky had a few clouds, which were highlighted by the stars and crescent moon. Davy Jones stood on the bow of the ship, holding the Grand Compass that pointed directly ahead. The magic compass that would lead him to what he most desired. He put the compass in his pocket and took out a pipe, which he lit up before smoking. The breeze blew the smoke behind his left. He turned in its direction and saw Cindy sitting at the railing, her legs hanging over the side.

Davy Jones approached the frizzy-haired child, who was a little green in the face. "You look seasick for a self-proclaimed pirate-ah."

"I can feel my 'twin's' happy radiance." Cindy said. "It's sickening."

"You share your own spiritual bond with someone."

"Yeah, right…" Cindy looked up to face him. "So, Captain Jones… have you really only been thinking about _one_ person for 10 years? A random woman you met only once?"

"She was not just some 'woman.' And, for a long time, I was not sure what to call her. I did not know the answer. But now… I am ready to tell her."

"Hmph… And you think she would wait for you to tell her some 'answer' after 10 years, in which time she could've easily found out herself? My mom only knew about her fearbending for three years before she made Logia."

"I would love to meet your mother in the future." Jones said. (A hunchbacked crewmate made a drumroll.) "And part of me feels… she does already know. …But I want her to hear it from me."

"Yeah, well… Be prepared for disappointment."

"Oh, don't listen to her!" Ydnic stated, having come out of the cabin. She clutched Jones' hand and looked up at the captain. "You should follow your heart, Captain Jones! I may be a Negative, but I'm _positive_ this woman will be glad to see you again! Whether or not you have the right answer!"

"BLUUUEEEH!" Cindy threw up over hearing that pun.

"Yes… you are right." Jones said, feeling his spirit lift. He touched his heart. "I know she is waiting for me… and I will tell her my answer…"

The captain returned to his cabin to rest. Ydnic came to sit by Cindy, grabbing the rail while her feet hung over the side. "See, Cindy, positive words lead to positive feelings, and positive feelings lead to brighter and stronger spirits!"

"I don't even care, Ydnic. I already know how this story's going to end. Every pirate in my universe knows. You can't change the past, even if you go back in time. If it's already happened in the future, all we're doing is helping instigate it."

"But maybe those time-travelers just haven't tried hard enough to make a difference. If a person is strong enough, they can beat fate, and make the future brighter."

"Even if you could change Jones' fate, it would hurt the future for other people. Like that Ocean Princess would never marry that human boy. Not that I would care. Either way, Jones' fate _will_ be the same, and I won't have to do a thing."

Ydnic stood up and told her firmly, "We'll see about that!" She marched back into the cabin.

That night, Davy Jones slept while holding the Grand Compass to his chest. The needle was spiraling rampantly.

 **A misty coast, three days later**

The day of Davy Jones' ten-year mark had come. The Grand Compass led him to this dark and eerie shore. He jumped down and marched up onto the shore. Cindy and Ydnic joined after him. The purple mist made the sky appear dark. They stood before a graveyard with dead trees. "So how long are you allowed to stand on land, exactly?" Cindy asked.

"Twenty-four hours. But if I step in any water, I cannot climb back on."

"Wow…" Ydnic spoke sadly. "That-"

"Sucks, I know."

"Can you at least jump?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, because technically, I'm still bound to the land's gravity."

"That's good!" Ydnic beamed.

"The compass will lead us to her." Jones said, holding the item up. "I trust you ladies to do your duties."

"Just don't leave us to do all the fighting." Cindy said. (Play "The Swamp" from _Zelda: Four Swords Adventures_.)

 _Stage B-11: Haunted Marshes_

 _Mission: Find the woman Davy Jones longs for._

There were lanterns floating midair around the graveyard, and they seemed to throw their selves at the girls when they approached. Cindy furiously slashed her sword at one of the lanterns, but it easily dodged and punched her in the face. "You silly, violence doesn't always win battles." Ydnic said. "Sometimes, you have to have fun!" She threw powder puffs over the lanterns, exposing the Poes that were holding them. Cindy and Davy Jones used their blades to slice the ghosts' bodies, so their lanterns fell, broke, and exposed the purple flames which were their souls. Davy Jones decided to catch the souls in some bottles. "Poe Souls are excellent beverages to spirits." he said.

A small moat divided the graveyard into two halves, so Jones jumped over it. A deeper moat separated them from a forest path, and was too wide to jump. Thankfully, a tall stone slab was propped up on their end, so Cindy rolled against it to knock it down and create a bridge across. On this forest path, there were giant pine cones, and when the trio approached, Morphs jumped out (one-eyed black balls with spikes) and latched onto them. The explorers were weighed down, so Keese seized the chance to flap down and attack them. Cindy shot a Fear Scream to scare the bats away and make the Morphs scatter, then she proceeded to slice the Morphs in half.

The path led them above a short cliff overlooking a purple gooey river, which stretched down several meters to their left. "You know, can't you just bend that water away?" Cindy asked.

"The water is poisonous." Jones said. "It conflicts with my waterbending-ah."

 _"Terror of the seas, my ass._ Well, how do you plan to get across?"

"The wall looks rugged enough for me to climb across."

"And me and Cindy will float down the river with my Plainford the Small Blue Cat inflatable!" Ydnic pulled out a blue deflated balloon. "Which is ironically bigger than his name would imply."

Ydnic puffed the floatie to a large size, and it withstood the poisonous water as it floated the girls across. Davy Jones (who would've been too heavy to ride it) climbed across the cliff on their left. An eyeball connected to a purple oozing stem came out of the swamp, staring at the girls, but one look with Cindy's Scare Stare forced it to retreat. Keese flapped in Jones' direction overhead, so Cindy coughed Fear Spheres up to take them down. Ydnic warned her of anymore Swamp Lurkers coming up, so Cindy could scare them before focusing back on Jones. Two Poes appeared in the girls' path, so Ydnic threw powder to expose the ghosts, Cindy cut them, then she shot down more bats coming for Jones.

At the end of the river, Jones could step onto safe ground, and the twins could disembark, with Ydnic deflating her giant floatie, cleaning the swamp water off ("Hurry up, already." Cindy told her), then stuffing it away. They accompanied Davy Jones down a new path, where a Pols Voice ambushed them. It was a large, yellow, blob-like thing with rabbit ears. Cindy's Fear Scream was enough to stun it senseless, then she cut it up.

They came to a field where pairs of two logs were lain around to create a maze. They questioned if it was safe for Jones to touch them since ships were made of wood… he figured if this wood had soil on it, it wouldn't be leaving land. There were Dark Chuchu around the maze, and since they couldn't be cut and Cindy's screaming jiggled them, Davy Jones splashed water over the blobs and froze them. On the other side of this maze was a pool of poison water. To cross it, they had to throw the frozen Dark Chus inside and make ice platforms. Since they couldn't throw the frozen Chus on the ground without them shattering, they were forced to maneuver around the maze to get to the pool before the blobs unfroze.

With enough platforms, the girls crossed the ice—Davy Jones couldn't, since ice is water. (Sigh, this curse was nothing but inconvenient.) There was a stone ring with teeth inside it, and when Cindy screamed, it reacted to her bending and spun around, making a narrow stone bridge rise up for Jones to cross the pool. In the graveyard that followed, Stalfos wielding spiked clubs rose from the soil. Jones used his waterbending to slice their bones, but through a supernatural force, the Stalfos' bones floated up and reformed their body.

 _"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"_ Cindy blasted a stronger Fear Scream in the hopes of weakening the skeletons, but the bones had no nerves to tingle, and Jones took the blast. "Stop it!" Ydnic clamped Cindy's mouth shut. "The real way to beat sleep-depraved skeletons is with warm milk." Ydnic pulled out a glass of milk and poured it on the soil where the Stalfos came from. The skeletons seemed to calm, for they returned to their graves and sunk beneath the soil.

Ydnic approached Davy Jones, who was holding his aching head as he stood back up. "Are you okay, Captain?"

"I am… fine…" Jones panted.

The crew went up a flight of stairs to a new forest path above a cliff. Mothulas floated down from the trees – giant black moths with green-and-yellow wings, one eye, and pinchers. When Cindy used Scare Stare on them, the Mothulas retaliated by shooting Morphs from their tails. When the spikeballs latched onto them, the Mothulas swooped down to attack the humans. Cindy scared the Morphs off with Fear Scream, cut them up, then angrily sliced the wings off the Mothulas. She panted heavily after the creatures were dealt with. "Oops, did I hit you?" she asked when she saw Jones and Ydnic holding their ears shut.

The path turned left and brought them above a pool down in a rectangular pit. Cindy used a Licorope on a branch hanging over the pit to swing herself and Ydnic across. There was a stone block on the other side, which Cindy pushed into the pool. Davy Jones made a leap down onto the block, then leapt up to grab the ledge, with the girls pulling him up by the arms. They came to a field with several patches of swamp water. Hardhat Beetles (blue beetles with bulbous tops) wandered around the patches, and would use their bouncy bodies to push them into the water.

Cindy coughed Fear Spheres while Jones threw Water Slices before the creatures got too close. However, more beetles were coming out of small caves. There was a stone door sealed on the other side, and a slot where something would go beside it. On the right of the swamp, there was a small gargoyle statue. It was too heavy to lift, but Cindy could make it move by screaming. Jones and Ydnic distracted the beetles so Cindy could maneuver it around the swamp patches, finally directing it into the slot as it settled in place.

The entrance to what seemed like a ruined church opened. Vines were growing through the walls and floor panels, and the building was long since abandoned. They arrived at a round chasm, looking down to find a fallen statue of Darkrai the First partway in swamp ooze. "Weren't the Nightmare Wars ending around this time?" Cindy asked.

"Lord Kyogre mentioned the Galaxians having progress against the Nightmares." Jones replied. "What do you mean by 'this time'?"

"Don't worry about it." Cindy screamed into a Scream Ring, causing stone platforms to emerge from the left wall. They were unstable, so Davy Jones carried Ydnic and jumped across them quickly to make it across. As for Cindy, she grabbed a thin ledge along the right to climb across. Naturally, there were Snapdragons waiting in holes above the ledge. When Cindy got close, they popped out—they caused the unstable wall to crumble as they fell into the ooze below, creating a gap in the ledge. Cindy had to make a tricky swing-jump to grab the next ledge part.

She made it to her group as they followed the passage and exited the church. They faced a lake of swamp ooze, and the only way across was with a stone platform that moved using a Scream Ring. The other two had to endure Cindy's screaming while she used her power to move it. Mines emerged from the swamp, so Cindy had to constantly maneuver around. She used Scare Stare on Swamp Lurkers, and Ydnic threw powder puffs over Poes. Eventually, they made it to the other side of the lake. From this shore, they viewed a wide stone stairway across another swamp pool.

A giant three-headed Piranha Plant emerged from the pool, a hideous Diababa with teeth oozing with poison. The two side heads tried to gnash down at them, but Jones froze their mouths with waterbending. The center head, whose mouth had four sides, unleashed a deafening roar as its single eye wiggled on the stem. Cindy withstood the scream and glared at the eye, scaring the piranha as its eye stem dangled over the ground. Cindy leapt and chopped the eye clean off. The Diababa fell dead against their foothold.

The girls crossed the dead plant monster like a bridge while Jones climbed the wall along the left. Jones' Grand Compass pointed up the stairs, so he followed the girls up. Suddenly, the right head of Diababa recovered, smashing the ice on its mouth as it whipped around and grabbed Jones' right leg. "AHH!" The captain stuck his sword in the stairs to keep himself from being dragged down. The girls turned around and gasped—Ydnic ran down and began trying to pull him free. "Cindy, do something!"

Cindy tried to cut the Diababa's stem, but it was too sturdy, and it had no eyes or ears for her bending to work. The monster's teeth sunk further into Jones' leg, so with no other option, Cindy chopped the leg clean off. "AAAAAHH!" The plant's head flew back into the swamp with the leg to dine on.

"CINDY!" Ydnic screamed. "Why did you DO that? !"

"If we dragged that out, the poison would've seeped into the rest of his body!"

"It is no loss… augh!…" Jones used the sword as a prop to push himself onto his left foot. "We are almost there… just a little farther… huff…"

Cindy and Ydnic helped him up the stairs, and once at the top, they viewed the ground of some ruins, with vine-covered pillars. Jones followed the compass forward, until it led him to a stone pyramid. (End song.)

The pyramid had foreign writing inscribed on it, and an eye on its top. Jones limped around the pyramid… but the compass remain fixed on it. "I do not understand-ah." The captain panted, continuing to limp around the structure. "Why did the compass bring me here? Where…Where is she? !"

"Maybe she's hiding inside it!" Ydnic said hopefully, knocking on the rock. "Helloooo? Anyone in there?"

"Don't you get it?" Cindy spoke logically. "She was never here. She was probably never real. All you saw and heard was a hallucination, and your compass was probably attracted by a magnetic field generated by this pyramid."

"Nooo!" Ydnic yelled in denial. "She has to be here! She…She's waiting for him!"

"And what evidence do you have to support that?" Cindy asked.

"Because…Because Davy Jones waited 10 years to come here and find her! He crossed a dangerous swamp, lost a leg, so he has to meet his true love! A romantic story can't end without-"

"This isn't some fairytale! In your Negaverse, you might be able to live under the delusion that life has happy endings, but it doesn't. Jones was fooling himself into believing some woman was waiting for him. He wasted his time-"

The captain lost balance on his sword and fell on his front. "No…" Jones pushed up. His face had become filthy after this journey. "If she is not real… then why…why do I feel so…" He looked up at the pyramid's writing. For some reason… the words were so clear.

 _Your life has been but a lie. Your free will is an illusion. Your choices are not your own. Everything is decided._

Seeing those words made him furious. Out of nowhere… immeasurable anger overcame him. "I… had… the **answer** …ah…" He pushed himself to his foot and sword. "I was going… to tell you… tell you… what you really are…ah…" He fell to his knees. "You were… **MY SOOOOOOUUUUUUL!"**

His voice was louder than any of Cindy's screams. Cindy refrained from saying how dumb and cliché that line sounded. (Of course, this was the past, so a line like that is still original.) Davy Jones gasped for breath. "And YOU…" He glared at the girls. "You children… are DEMONS… taunting me! Leave… go away… GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, NOW!" With unmatched fury, Jones slashed wave after wave of water at the kids. Cindy grabbed Ydnic and ran away, but Jones' water continued to fly at them.

"This trip is over!" Cindy activated the Return Pad and warped the two back to the present.

Davy Jones stopped himself once the "demons" were gone. He gasped, despair overcoming him. Why did his heart ache so much? Why did he feel so much pain? …The pyramid lit with a dark flame. He heard the flame brimming and looked at it. The flames flew into his body completely. He felt them lodge into his heart.

 **Davy Jones awakened as a _DARKNESS_. Only 11 more to go. (Wait, who was the first one?)**

 _Davy Jones's tears could have flooded the sea. The only solace he could find was from the ocean. As he served Kyogre for 10 more years, ferrying souls to the next life, freeing them of their despair… he saw no point in it. His soul, even if he were to die, would drown in despair deeper than the ocean. The only way to conquer it… would be to conquer the ocean. Conquer all oceans if he had to. He had to rule it all… but to keep the pain in his heart from slowing him, Jones had to be rid of it. Lock it away where no one could find it and remind him of his despair._

 **Present; time machine cave**

"And that was how it was done back then." Medusa said to her cohorts after watching the show on the time machine's screen.

"Boy, Medusa, you really knew how to flirt with men." Pandora smiled admirably. "All that 'Can you tell me what I am' crap was an excellent touch."

"Yes, but a hint of Dark Chi never fails to attract." As she said this, Cindy and Ydnic came out of the machine. "Girls, you're back! That was an excellent performance in there!"

"Why did you make us do that?" Cindy asked. "Ydnic sure didn't influence him. All we did was lead him far enough into the swamp until he realized it was hopeless."

"Actually, you did play a part, Cindy. Your fearbending was enhanced in that swamp, and it spread to Jones considerably. He developed a fear that he would be wrong and _I_ wouldn't be there. He will continue to remember that fear and shower it upon his future victims. Thanks to you, the terror that was the Dutchman Pirates has made history. A fun fact, that spiritbending of his was used to turn fish into monsters and his crew into those zombie fish forms."

"But what did I have to do with it?" Ydnic asked.

"You're too bright for my tastes, Ydnic. I wanted you to witness firsthand as Darkness triumphs Light. I hope the other Negatives learn that, too."

"…Well, I don't buy it." Ydnic said firmly. "I believe Light can and will triumph in the end. I think Jones's soul could be saved. I think… even _you_ could learn that."

Medusa frowned and stared at her. Ydnic turned and marched out of the cave. "I'm going home. It was nice to meet you, Cindy."

"…Hmph." Cindy sheathed her blade. "All love does is destroy people. I don't see why my mom could like it." She began to leave the cave. "…Even if it did make me."

The three gods waited until she was gone. "So, this is how you plan to find the Darknesses, is it?" Pandora asked. "Did you make your picks for the other ones?"

"They were already decided, Dora." Medusa smirked. "Because the Darknesses already met them."

* * *

 **About time, right? So yeah, the classic Dutchman Pirates from _Pirates of the Caribbean_. I gave them funny human designs that would eventually match their Fishman designs, and even their epithets. And we finally got to see how Jones fell into depravity! Next time, we'll have Wendy do a stage. Kids, don't do mushrooms.**


	15. Simple, Yet Complicated

**Decided to add the "B-" before the chapter numbers.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-15: Simple, Yet Complicated_**

 **Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

"And that, Frederick, is why we use caution when executing a prank regarding Acne Cream." Facilier said as he spread Anti-Acne Cream on the boy's face, which was filled with bloated red dots.

"Thank you, Dr. Facilier." Frederick blushed.

"A'ight, run along now." The boy jogged out of the shop, then Samantha walked up. "Hey, Sammy! What's new?"

"Mr. Facilier, my brother and I just remembered who the KND leader is!" Sam yelled. "His name's Cheren, and he was-"

"I know, I know, everyone forgot him and remembered him outta nowhere!" Facilier summed up. "I was pretty weirded out, too, but then… eh, it's not important."

"Mr. Facilier, my brother says that Cheren said the Apocalypse is coming! We didn't believe it at first, but… Sigh, it's starting to worry him. …I was wondering if…"

"You wanna read your fortune?"

"…Mmmmm, uh-uh." She shook her head. "I don't know if I should… maybe we just need to lighten up. You have any of those Image Bubbles?"

"Haha, sure, kid." Facilier grabbed a pink bubble bottle from the shelf.

"Thanks." Sam paid the money and began to walk out.

"SAM?" She turned back to the witch-doctor. "It's gonna be all right."

"…Hehe." Sam grinned and exited the shop.

"A'ight, WENDY, you can come down!"

The ceiling hatch opened, and Carla floated down before Wendy climbed down the ladder. The girl sat in the chair opposite Facilier. "Did y'all get a good night's rest?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Good! Alright, quiz time, give me three types of spells and describe them!"

"Umm… There are Charms, which are supportive spells that give a special property to the target… Curses, which are harmful dark spells that can last briefly or indefinitely, like a hex… and Transformation-type spells, which alter the target's size, shape, or appearance."

"Do you have a favorite?"

"Definitely Charms." Wendy smiled. "I really don't do with Curses."

"I can imagine. Okay, Wendy, you've been getting plenty of fighting experience, so I think we can level off on that for a bit. We need to start teaching you to combine your airbending with your magic."

"But I already do. I cast the Repiti spell on my Cyclone Fist to keep it going."

"That's very creative, but it ain't what I mean. Magic benders in the past have utilized bending powers that others wouldn't have. But I ain't an airbender, so I'm not sure what power you can invent… however, my sources inform me of the perfect teacher who can tell you. He's an old wizard named Ezlo, and he was last seen walking across the Climate Plains in Europe. We can warp you to the train station through the Floo Network." He pointed to the fireplace. "I'll stay behind and look for where the twins and Floop are hiding."

"Okay. Will I need contacts?"

"Nah, it's not a populace setting. You can give your eyes more breath."

"Okay…" Wendy lightly grasped the lap of her emerald dress, looking down.

Facilier noticed her downtrodden expression. "…You still upset, aren't you?"

"Yeah… I know you don't want me to be, but…"

The doctor reached over and tilted Wendy's head up. "Wendy, it's okay to feel upset if you wanna be… it's just it's a different story if you let these feelings get to you, know what I mean?"

"I do. I just want something good to happen for a change. I want these 'missions' to feel… worth it."

Facilier looked away. He wanted to grant such a request, but wasn't sure what to give her. …He smiled and said to her, "Tell you what: you come back from this mission, I'll show you the wand that I use."

"You mean your cane?"

"Naw, the cane is just a disguise." Facilier held said cane up. "The wand is inside of it. I never showed it to anyone, but I'll be happy to let you and Charles be the first."

"Really? ! The first? !" Wendy's expression brightened.

"My first student and my first pet! Is that enough to inspire you?"

"YES, it is! ! I'm so excited!"

"I am not YOUR pet." Carla stated. "Besides, isn't the shadow your pet?"

"Hey, that's offensive." The doctor stated. Shadow nodded. "Plus, he already knows since he's part of me." Shadow shrugged. "So are y'all ready to go?"

"I sure am!" Wendy jumped to her feet. "Let's go!"

Facilier gave her a backpack that carried Floo Powder for her to return. "Climate Plains!" he called as he threw a bundle of powder into the fireplace. Wendy and Carla jumped into the emerald flame and vanished.

Upstairs in the bedroom, the girl's 'Wendell' clothes were folded under her bed. …A small, triangle-shaped paper with an eye drawn on it helped itself out of the shirt's neck hole, and looked around.

 **Fizzuras House**

"Vell, ve had a few nasty bumps in ze road…" Henrietta grinned sheepishly. "But I am proud to share our first family breakfast in five years vith zese unaging babies, and our special guest, ze cavegirl, Nel." She smiled at the cavechild sitting at one end of the table.

"Nel is happy to be in Aughsucks family cave." Nel clapped. "Missus Fizzyrocks makes tasty little green trees." She was eating broccoli. "Would Aughsucks like some?"

Augustus was sitting inside a large, but cramped cage, eating dogfood from a doggy bowl. "Why, again, is the animal-like cavegirl not sitting in here, but I AM? !"

"Because ze little cavegirl has shown better manners zan you so far, Augustus liebe." Henrietta replied, dropping a bone-shaped treat in her son's bowl. "You need ein tighter leash zan she does."

"Why do we even have this cage, anyway?"

"It used to belong to the dog you didn't feed before you left." Augustus's father, Antonio replied.

"Oh, yeah… I forgot about Syrup."

"Named your dog Syrup?" Rallo asked. "Well, no wonder he ran away."

"Look, Augustus, I vould not have minded zis adventurous streak if you had not gone and 'made a name' for yourself." Henrietta stated, still focused on her breakfast. "Vanted posters of Candy Hunter Augustus everywhere, how much vill it take to clear your name?"

"Tell me about it. I changed my epithet to 'Stone Fist', how do I get that public? AH!" Henrietta kicked the teen's cage.

"Still, that's a weird-looking rock you brought home with you." Ace said. "Where did you find that?"

"Antonio, he ruined your plane, don't encourage him." Heinie scolded.

"Eh, nothing we can't fix."

"Mom, have you ever heard of sweets called the Lost Candies?" Augustus asked, eating his treat.

"Ze Lost Candies? Vhere vould _you_ have heard about zem, 'cause I haven't."

"I heard about them from a sick boy in Pueblo de Niebla. The Sugar Fairy Princess says that not many people _have_ heard of them, however."

"You met ze Fairy Princess?"

"Heh, I met two of them! Pretty slick for a runaway, right?"

"Nel has to go potty." Nel said. "Nel can poop in corner, or anywhere?"

"Ahem, AUGUSTUS, teach Nel how to use ze bathroom." Heinie picked up her plate and carried it to the sink. "And afterwards, give her a bath."

"Ain'tchu gonna let me out of here? ?"

"Vhy? You have thumbs."

Augustus flexed said fingers. He used them to grab that little slide-in bar, pull it out, and unlock his cage. "…I knew that."

 **Bathroom**

"He he, he he, he he!" Nel was happily swinging her feet while Augustus tried to scrub them. Her unclothed body was covered in bubbles. "Nel feels a happy feeling in her feets now. Is Nel's feet tasting?"

"You have millions of years of catching up to do." Augustus said. Behind him, his mom was brushing her hair. "So Mom, can you think of any reason why the World Government would wanna burn any references to the Lost Candies?"

"Vhy vould ze Government concern their selves vith that?"

"To be fair, the Sugary Wonders were pretty deadly items. You'd think they would've shown more initiative in stopping our ancestors from finding them all those years."

"Hmmm…" Heinie thought for a second. If the Wonders didn't catch their attention, why _were_ the Lost Candies special? "I'm really not certain."

"Oh well. Do you know if there's any way to get to Oceana?"

"Vell, ZAT is out of nowhere! Augustus, Big Mam vonce made an agreement to protect Oceana from invaders in exchange for zeir delicious candies. Now that Big Mam is no more, zey von't velcome you."

"Oh yeah, I forgot! I wonder if Nickel Joe still remembers their coordinates."

"Augh, you are purposely ignoring the parts I _vant_ you to hear."

"Hey, I'm sorry for running away without notice, but I need to find the Lost Candies before Luviro dies this month."

"This… month? He says he vill die this month, specifically?"

"W-Well, back in November, he said he had seven months to live, so… this would be the seventh month, wouldn't it?"

"…" Henrietta grew more suspicious. "Augustus, if finding ze Lost Candies is that important, zen perhaps you should get ze help of someone vith expertise in this subject. Like, ze Kids Next Door."

"Are you kidding, Mom? ! The point of being an adventurous runaway is NOT seeking help from the law! Let those snot-nosed brats worry about defeating their broccoli monster or whatever."

"Sigh… Perhaps zey are too busy." Henrietta sighed, aware of their own conflicts the KND is dealing with.

 **Garage**

After bath time was over, Augustus's crew set to work in the garage, which was filled with scrap. It only took half an hour to repair the _Ace Flyer_. "There we are, good as new." Stewie smiled. "While we're here, I suppose I can construct a few weapons for our upcoming quest."

"You get started on that, I'll phone in Nickel Joe." Augustus said as he dialed on his cellphone. After two rings, the other end decided to chance the caller ID and answer. _"Ye… Hello?"_

"Hey, Joe, it's me, Augustus."

 _"Who is this Joe you speak of? I am Trader Slim, the on-the-run sales clerk. Can I interest you in this pretty little bowl that looks like a turtle shell?"_

"No thanks, now tell me, Joe, you collected debt from Oceana, haven't you?"

 _"W-Why do ya need to know? Are there, eh… cops about?"_

"No, it's just me. Joe, I wanna go back to Oceana and look for something, but I need coordinates."

 _"Eh… Well, it so happens that I saved the coinkidinks on my phone. But Gusty, we're all wanted in that place, and the only way in from the surface is through the Mother Child Islands, and anybody with eyes will see you come in from there."_

"Big deal, I should easily be able to build a submarine. Just link me the map and I'll let you get back to your sales."

 _"You bargain hard, Gus. Just don't bet more than you can pay up."_ The call ended. Augustus watched as a digital map appeared on his phone with a location marked in the Atlantic.

"Before we go, we should fly to Gumdrop Cove and buy some Oxybursts." The captain said. "Since you Devil Fruit eaters can't swim, they'll help you breathe underwater."

"Augustus, aren't you concerned how the pirates will treat us for the Davy Back Fight?" Stewie asked. "And what if some of the participants are there?"

"They might. Hmmm…" Augustus picked up the Rock Nut and stared at it. "The Rocknut Tribe used this nut to strengthen their armor. When I licked it, my Haki fully came back. Do you think this thing has the power to strengthen defense?"

"You wanna test it out?" Rallo asked.

Augustus decided to put the Rock Nut in the _Ace Flyer_ 's trunk. "'kay, Stewie, blast it." The baby whipped out his ray gun and shot the biplane. After four shots, he grabbed his missile launcher and fired, exploding on the plane. It barely left a scratch. "Awesome! At least now we won't get shot down."

"It could weigh us down." Stewie said.

"Well, we'll make do. I'm more worried about how we're gonna take a submarine all the way to Oceana."

"Actually, I might be able to make something that can fix all those dilemmas. Give me about an hour."

 **Climate Plains**

Wendy and Carla exited the emerald fire and found their selves under the roof of the train station, which was open to the outside atmosphere. The sun was shining high over a vast green plain with tall mountains. The roaring whistles of trains echoed in the distance. "This place is really pretty, Carla."

"I agree. But did Dr. Facilier say why it was called Climate Plains?"

"I know. 'Train Plains' would've sounded better, right? Heh heh!"

"He didn't even tell us what Ezlo looked like. What, does he expect you to walk around and ask casually?"

"It shouldn't be hard. There isn't many people around, so we just have to find someone that looks… wizardly! Let's just run around and see the sights while we're at it. Haha, try to keep up!" (Play "Realm Overworld" from _Zelda: Spirit Tracks_!)

 _Stage B-12: Climate Plains_

 _Mission: Find the wizard, Ezlo._

Wendy dashed down a hill toward a small mountain, and she spin-jumped on a propeller spring to get up onto a cliff on its side. She hopped on a pair of train tracks and grinded toward a field on her left. A train was coming, but instead of jumping off the rail and going around it, Wendy leaped and ran across the roof. She grabbed a Fire Soul at the end before running off and grinding the track. Wendy was about to cross a high bridge over a river, but a train was coming from directly ahead. She jumped left and grinded a rail on the train's side, and jumped flamethrowers coming from the train.

Once past the train, Wendy got back on the tracks and grinded into a cave. The route where the train came from was closed, so Wendy jumped off the rail and ran the alternate way. She stopped at a cliff over a chasm, but saw a Spring Pad up on the right wall. Carla lifted her up so the spring could bounce her to a dash panel on the left wall. Wendy sidestepped when blue Blastworms popped out of parts of the wall, avoiding the explosive bugs.

Wendy ran off the edge of the wall, landing on a safe foothold before going up a U-turn slope that brought her into a round tunnel. Rocktites (four-legged rock spiders with an eye in their mouth) skittered around the floor and walls, staying ahead of Wendy and waiting to jump at her. Wendy lined up with each Rocktite to shoot Attack Spells and knock them out of the way. One Rocktite jumped her while she was running on the wall, causing her to drop to the floor as she tried to shake it off. Carla did a Torpedo Spin to aid in that, and when another Rocktite jumped, Wendy whipped the Attack Spell to defeat it.

At the end of the tunnel, Wendy ran along a path on the side of a mountain. The path sloped down, then up again, and three GUN Shield Hunters blocked her path. Wendy slid under the middle one's shield, knocked it off its feet, then hit the Spring Pad behind them to bounce up to another level of the mountain. It was a small field where Fire Souls were lain around. Wendy ran up to the first fiery ring—it became a Like-Like that snatched Wendy in its vacuum mouth. Wendy struggled to escape, clutching her wand inside the mouth and casting Stupefy to make it release. They figured all these Fire Souls were Like-Likes' lures, so Wendy avoided them all. (One was probably real, though.)

Wendy hit a spring on the other side of the field, bouncing to a mountain path that sloped up and around the peak. Near the top, she hit a rail and grinded all the way down toward a beach overlooking the vast ocean. As she raced across the beach, Ergtoroks (Octoroks that dwell in sand) popped up to cough rocks at her, but Wendy avoided before hitting a spring at the end that bounced her onto some train tracks. She grinded the tracks over a great long bridge that crossed the sea. Partway across, the tracks sloped down onto the surface, curved left, and ended as Wendy ran across the ocean's surface.

Some small battleships were trying to blast Wendy from either side, and she avoided the splashes made by their cannons as she was coming to another tall bridge. Carla quickly grabbed her master and lifted her up onto the bridge, and Wendy grinded rightward along the tracks. There was a train coming from ahead, riding tracks that were on the surface on their right. When the bridge was reaching its end, Wendy jumped onto the rail that was on the train's roof. When the train was ending, she jumped left and grinded another bridge rail.

The track swerved left, and Wendy jumped off their dead end to bounce across a series of GUN Beetles. The last one was a Spring Beetle, which bounced Wendy up to another train track on a bridge. She grinded the bridge toward a snowy mountain, going between two other tracks that trains were riding, then quickly jumped on the left track when that train passed, avoiding the train on the center track. When the center train passed, she returned on the center track and made it to the mountain's base.

She jumped off the track to avoid going in the train tunnel, hitting a spring that bounced her to the next mountain level. GUN Laser Hunters shot goop guns at her, but Wendy took them out with punches from her Cyclone Fist, which pushed the robots against the wall and broke them. Carla lifted Wendy onto the next ledge, where she could enter the snowy mountain. "First a pleasant meadow, then a beach, now a snow peak?" Carla questioned.

"So that's why they're called the Climate Plains!" Wendy realized. The cold of the Winter Zone made her toes chilly, so her speed was a little faltered. Wendy ran up a small slope to a ground where GUN Rhinos tried to run her over, but Wendy jumped them and cast Reducto Curses to destroy the mechs. Wendy ran off a ledge afterward and raced down a wide slope within a trench. A train suddenly exploded from the ground behind them, haphazardly rolling down the path and making an avalanche. The train had a drill on its front, so Wendy ran faster, avoiding the snowballs coming from the avalanche.

At the end of this slope, Wendy jumped on a frozen ice rail on her left, curving leftward as it brought her over a chasm between a trench. The rail dropped her on a path along the right wall, so Wendy ran across it, jumping the Ice Chuchu that sprang up. The path ended at a protective fence, and there was also a thin, tall pole. Wendy blew a cyclone up the pole, then she grabbed onto it as the wind spiraled her up. Once high enough, Wendy released and flew over to a path on the left trench wall. The path ramped up and forced Wendy to run along the wall itself, but when the cold caused her to lose speed, Carla quickly grabbed the girl and lifted her to the next safe ground.

The path directed toward the center of the trench, Ice Chus guarding the path as Wendy cast Fire Spells at them. Wendy boosted up a ramp at the end, flying her over the chasm before she landed on a new path, which turned left, brought her out of the snow, and into an orange autumn forest where colored leaves floated down. "Ahhh, this is much nicer. Carla, what's your favorite season?"

"Spring is the only one I fully experienced, so perhaps that."

They came to a dead-end area with several log pillars with springs. There was a switch at the base of each pillar, and pressing them would change the springs' direction. Wendy made a left spring face right, made that spring face up, the above spring bounce left, the following one down diagonal, and that final upward spring bounced her onto the ledge. Wendy kept along the path, coming to an area where three trains went over three parallel sets of tracks, horizontal in Wendy's perspective. She jumped the flat beds of the first train, used Carla to float over the second one's short cars, but to get over the third one, Wendy jumped into a vine-made slingshot, which Carla then pulled to aim and launch Wendy over the train.

The next path turned left and led Wendy to a trench area with a huge gap between her and the next ledge, but there was ground below. Another of those slingshots was partway over the edge, so Wendy jumped into it. Carla aimed Wendy at a vine that was swinging circles on the left and launched her to it. Wendy hung onto the self-swinging vine before launching herself to a swinging platform. The platform swung beside Centiflies, which were dragonflies with centipede legs. They floated up-and-down, and when they floated up, Wendy could safely bounce their heads and cross them. (There was a small blue fairy that appeared to be sketching the large bugs.)

Wendy landed on a swing hanging from the branches above, and using her airbending, she swung further and higher before launching herself toward the ledge. Wendy began to scamper through a forest maze, screeching when the large spiders, Skulltula tried to drop in her way. She seemed to be running aimless around the forest, but in every turn she came to, a branch from a dead tree was pointing either left or right. Carla suggested she follow those directions, and when Wendy did, they found their way out of the forest.

They were back in the Spring Zone, going down a green hill and up the other side. Wendy raced up to a lone rock where a small creature was sitting. (End song.)

The creature on the rock was about six inches tall. He was an old Minish with white hair in a bun, a large white beard and eyebrows, wearing a green robe. He was sitting cross-legged, meditating. A wood staff with a round top was lain before him. "Perhaps ask him." Carla whispered.

"I dunno, he looks like he's resting… Maybe I shouldn't interrupt him."

"You're not standing too far away, I can hear you." The Minish stated.

"Eeeek!" Wendy yelped. The Minish got up, picked up his staff, and turned to them. Wendy and Carla decided to approach him.

"What is it you wanted to ask me?"

"I just… wanted to know if you've seen a wizard named Ezlo around here." Wendy asked shyly.

"Who did you think I was?"

"Y-You're him?" Wendy was a little shocked. He was smaller than she expected, but she didn't say that. "Um… Well, my name's Wendy, this is Carla. A man named Dr. Facilier sent us here to find you. He said you could teach me how to use airbending and magic together."

"Oh, did he? And did 'Dr. Facilier' send any notice that some red-eyed blue-haired girl and her weird-looking cat would try to find me and want to learn magic?"

"I… guess not?" Wendy flushed and shifted her feet.

"Sir, we're sorry for disrupting your meditation, and we promise to question Mr. Facilier later." Carla told him. "He has taught Wendy all she knows about magic so far, but he is not knowledgeable enough to show her how to use it with her bending properly. That's why he sent us to you. We understand you might be too busy, so if that's the case-"

"Stick a tuna in it, Cat, I'll teach the girl."

"Y-You will?" Wendy stuttered in shock again.

"But first, just how good with your powers are you?"

"Well, I'm… a pretty good airbender. I ran all the way across this valley in minutes, but I'm sort of just learning magic. I have a Lamia Scale." She showed him her wand.

"Hmmmm…" Ezlo stared at the girl intently. He skimmed her up and down, from her sandaled feet to her head of odd features. Wendy got the impression he wasn't impressed. From his size, he must've had pretty good view of the girl, like the very slight but unbalanced posture of her legs. "Alright, we'll work with it. First, take off your shoes. You'll do better if you're barefoot."

"No way, her feet will get dirty." Carla argued.

"That's the breaks."

"You're barefoot too, Carla." Wendy chuckled as she pulled off her sandals.

"Dr. Facilier wouldn't buy me those kitty shoes at the mall." Carla frowned grumpily.

Wendy planted both feet on the ground and wiggled her toes between the grass. "It isn't so bad."

"Indeed." Ezlo nodded. "Now put your wand down and do what I do."

They both placed their wands on the ground before them. Wendy mimicked Ezlo as they performed yoga-like movements, bending their bodies to either side, balancing on one leg while stretching the other one out, and bending back like a rainbow.

"Can I ask why we're doing this?" Carla asked, figuring she would try it herself.

"Element benders are known for molding their chi by exercising their body." Ezlo explained. "Magic users know little more than waving a wand and casting spells. Even magic benders don't think to make them one in the same practice. True, magic is not classified as a sole Element Chi, but it is a combination of forces, natural and supernatural, that make up wizards' bodies. To grow with it, you must grow with nature. Breathe…" The Minish took a deep breath, and exhaled softly, while balancing on one leg.

Wendy mimicked his posture and breathed softly. She felt the fresh air ease her lungs. A yellow butterfly flew by her face, and since Wendy's airbending made her breathing stronger, she sucked the bug in. "Ack- aaack!" She fell over and punched her chest, but when the butterfly wouldn't come out, she took a breath and swallowed. She shuddered from the tingly, buttery feeling.

Ezlo sighed. "Alright, Step 2. Pick up your wand."

Wendy grabbed her Lamia Scale and got back up. She mimicked Ezlo's pose, holding her wand in both hands, aiming directly forward, and closing her eyes. "Magic, like chi, is everywhere. Because although some areas are more fluent with a particular chi, all chis come from the same source, so there are tiny fragments of all chi everywhere. Ordinary mages are born with this energy in our blood, so we are able to bond with magic wands, which help us direct and control the internal and external magic energy. But magic benders have a stronger bond, because their body houses a form of chi and can therefore control part of nature. I want you to channel the Air Chi and the magic to your wand."

They were too many words for Wendy to process all at once. She kept a firm grip on her wand and tried to focus her power. Even though Dr. Facilier wasn't an airbender, he had a book that taught Wendy basic moves. Since she had a good bond with her chi already, she was able to learn Dragon Style from the books, too. Of course, even if she could blow a strong cyclone, she wasn't perfect in the art. She never tried focusing her chi without actually bending, let alone focusing magic.

She stood like a statue for several minutes, trying to picture firmly in her mind, the Air Chi and magic connecting at her wand. Her arms and legs were growing numb, she felt the sweat between the wand and the palms of her hands. "Uuuugh." Wendy sat on the ground and gasped for breath. "This is too hard. There's so many things to remember, and it's all so confusing."

"Everything sounds more complicated than it actually is!" Ezlo stated. "A train driver doesn't have to remember all the complex sciences and mechanisms to drive a train, they just do it! You're thinking too hard, girl."

"But don't benders have to use their mind, too? So they can focus where they want the chi to go, and how it works?"

"Yes, but basic moves shouldn't require much thought! All your chi needs is a brief instruction, and it will do it! It may not always work out, but that's how you grow with it!"

"But you keep saying that magic is a part of our body, just like chi is. Why can't they be one in the same, and better yet, why can't anybody else use magic? Why isn't everyone born with this 'mix of chi' or whatever?" 

Ezlo sighed. "The truth is, girl, I have no idea. I may be a master wizard, but even I'm not sure what sets magic apart from chi. I don't think anybody does, all we have are predictions and theorems."

"Then I'm just bad at it, huh." Wendy lied on her back.

"Oh, pipe down, you're still a child." Ezlo jumped down and sat on her chest. "And you came to me for an on-the-spot lesson, did you expect to master it right away?"

"Haha, I guess not." Wendy chuckled. She faced up at the moving sky, the light breeze calming her nerves.

"I don't know if you learned this in elementary school, but in our universe, there are ultimately Four Forces whose ultimate beginnings extend beyond our understanding. There is magic… chi… metahumanism… and even physics. Those are the four main forces that have become infamous across history. It is from those forces that people developed a variety of powers and skills. And no person knows where they came from. True, we think Arceus is the ultimate creator. We think he created all of the chis, we think he created magic by combining chis, we think Bang Gas was spawned from Arceus's gas… but what force created Arceus, and where did that force come from? Billions have researched, but the answers are nowhere. Did Arceus even make all this himself? No one knows…

"Wendy, all I'm saying is that it _is_ confusing. Explanations are important for knowledge's sake, but trying to learn everything or even understand everything is impossible. I don't want you to hurt yourself just trying to remember the inner workings of magic or bending. But you must learn to mold the two powers in your own way."

 _In my own way…_ "Mr. Ezlo, could you get off me?"

The Minish did so. With a new determined aura, Wendy got to her feet, pulled her arms under her dress, and ripped off her Chi Stabilizers. "Child, what're you doing? !" Carla yelled.

"Huh? Why did the wind suddenly pick up?" Ezlo asked, having to stick his staff in the ground to keep from blowing.

Wendy held her wand forward, locked herself on the ground, and focused her power. _Is this why I couldn't control my curse? Because I didn't know to control my magic? If so, then that's going to change. If I don't get anything else… I at least want Lee Andrew to be proud of me._

A cyclone encased her body, and the ground at her feet glowed. Carla held Ezlo and stayed firm as they both stared at the wizard with awe. Wendy opened her eyes, kept her wand grasped in both hands, and waved it as the cyclone became a strip of wind and blew in the pointed direction. Wendy whipped her wand right, and the wind redirected and flew that way. Wendy twirled in place, making the wind spiral around and around like a dancer's ribbon. Then, with a mighty swing toward the sky, the wind shot up and separated a passing cloud.

Without her Chi Stabilizers on, it was the longest time Wendy stood without wind blowing around her: two minutes. Eventually, the breeze started to pick up again. "That was… impressive, Child." Carla said.

"Really? It felt pretty easy to me." Wendy blushed.

Ezlo jumped out of Carla's paws and approached Wendy with interest. "Who did you say sent you to me?"

"Doctor Facilier. He's a witch-doctor."

"Did he, now?" Ezlo stared up at Wendy's bright red eyes. He felt the breeze that was steadily increasing. "…It's funny… you remind me of an old student of mine. He was an airbender… who strongly sought to improve his magical potential. His name… was Vaati."

"Vaati?" Carla repeated.

"Yes. But like me, he was a Minish. At least… he used to be. I taught him to embrace nature in order to embrace the magic and chi inside him… and he did. But he took it too far. He studied Dark Arts and the dark side of his bending. I sense… the same kind of power in you."

"In me?" Wendy spoke, feeling hurt.

"I sense… the same type of desire in you. The passion to learn more on your own power. And the stronger your passion, the more you will desire. And then… you will fall into depravity."

Wendy's excitement from earlier faded away and replaced with fear. She stared at the Lamia Scale in her hands. A powerful wand that could shatter defense, but create strong defense. She thought she was becoming better at her powers, stronger… but what if this was bad?

"But like I said, don't think about it too much." Ezlo said. "If it is meant to happen, it will happen."

"But I don't want it to happen!"

"Child, don't listen to this geezer." Carla stated. "It's good for a person to seek knowledge. It's just a matter of what you do with it."

All three of them jumped when the ground exploded a few yards away, and the drill train they had evaded before emerged and dragged along the ground. A hatch on the top of the train opened, and a familiar skull-headed witch stuck out. "We meet again, you little ostrich. Thought you could give me the ditch?"

"IT'S GRUNTILDA!" Wendy exclaimed.

"That's right, I am back! You haven't given me the sack! In Orchid Bay, the Fairy Sphere trapped all the citizens in fear. The fairies came and sought the culprit, and I told them I wasn't it! True, I was to blame, but not all alone, because Miss Marvell here was guilty to the bone! The Fairy King planned to trap me, but the story changed when _he_ … (heard)…"

 _"Trap me here, you should not! Or your beloved Ocean Princess will rot!" Gruntilda threatened Jorgen._

 _"Vhat? !"_

 _"The Ocean Fairy, I have in chains. Thought I could use her for selfish gains."_

 _"YOU have imprisoned Princess Lazuli? !" Jorgen thundered, aiming his King Wand at her._

 _"Destroy me, trap me, do what you may! But then Princess Lazuli will pay. My minions are ordered to dispose of her, if I do not call by the hour!"_

"So here I am, free as a bee. Not bad for little old me." Grunty said proudly. "But a bargain with them, I made: eviction from my actions, should your bounty be paid." She held up Wendy's wanted poster.

"But why do the fairies want to capture me? !" she shouted.

"The Fairy King believes you seek the Fairy's Tail, he decrees. A powerful wand owned by Her Highness, should not fall to anything less. I will defeat you with my train, the _Hag Express_ , full of lots of pain. Try to catch me, Dear, but Grunty's victory is clear!" (Play "Gruntilda's Challenge" from _Banjo: Nuts & Bolts_.)

 _Boss fight: The Hag Express_

Wendy dodged left when the train charged at her, and when the vessel began to make its turn-around, Wendy ran after to stay behind it. Cannons on the roof launched bombshells, but Wendy kept dodging as she closed in on the train. She was able to jump on a rail on its right side, grinding to the link binding the other car and casting Alohomora to make the nail pop off.

The back car detached as the train swerved around to face Wendy. "So much for my mortar cannons. I'll slice you up! Say hi to Ganon!" The drill buzzed to life, and Wendy ran away as the train chased. She couldn't make a tight-enough turn because the train stayed dead behind her, and it was closing in. "Child, make a shield!" Carla yelled.

"OH! Protego!" Wendy stopped, cast a pink bubble over herself and Carla, and both braced for impact. The train BOUNCED up into the air upon hitting the impenetrable bubble.

"Your magic's stronger than I thought." said Grunty, still in midair. "Can you spot me underground? I doubt!" The train faced directly downward, descending and drilling through the ground. Wendy and Carla searched around, but when they heard the rumbling, they dodged before the train popped up. It flew into the air, aimed at them, and buried underground again after it missed the girls. The train repeated the process a second time, but on the third, Grunty's front car ended up getting stuck halfway. "Darn it, I've hit a tight spot! I'm not looking too hot!"

Now that Grunty was sticking out of her cockpit, Wendy spun a cyclone around her right fist, charged at the disembodied witch, and PUNCHED her in the glass containing her head. Grunty was pushed back inside the train by the force, and the vehicle flew up out of its trapped position. "I'll just chase you from afar! And wait until your defense is ajar." The three-car train began to chase the girl again, so Wendy ran a good distance ahead. She jumped the mini drills that were launched through the ground.

"Wendy, the train can't break your shield, so if you're able to keep making her crash…"

"I don't wanna keep relying on the shield. I wanna think of other ways. Like…Like this!" Wendy waved her wand in one hand and used the other to airbend. She conjured an Air Ball and hopped on it, balancing as she controlled the ball with her magic. She whipped around at sudden speed going past the drill and grabbing the back of the last train car. She climbed up onto the roof, and Grunty popped up from her car and casted spells at Wendy. The young mage jumped them as she ran across, then dealt a round of punches at Gruntilda.

The witch blew Wendy away with a propulsion spell, and when the wizard landed on the back car, Grunty cast a spell to detach it. The car began beeping, so Wendy leapt off before it exploded. "You'll no longer be going around. These lasers will keep you bound to ground!" A wall of lasers appeared on the sides of both cars, and would prevent Wendy from Air Balling around them. Grunty sent both ground drills and spells to impede Wendy's speed, and the train gained speed to catch up. Wendy controlled the wind with her magic, making numerous quick spins to slam the wind against the side of the _Hag Express_. After four blows, the train fell and dragged on its side.

Wendy was able to run around it, get in view of the next link, and shoot a spell to detach it. After a little more dragging, the drill car got back on its wheels. Grunty popped out and said, "Think you're fast, you little dragon? Then come and catch me, don't be laggin'!" The train drove directly forward, and Wendy gave chase as Grunty blasted quick spells that left pink strips of light. However, these strips were solid enough for Wendy to grind on, and slippery enough for her to do so barefooted. She kept going up these conjured rails, jumping Grunty's spells, and landing on the next, steadily making her way to the witch.

Finally, Wendy landed on the roof, and Grunty screeched when the girl charged up to punch her in the glass. The witch was knocked out of the cockpit, and the train was about to crash into a cliffside. Carla held onto Wendy as the latter jumped off, and both watched the drill car explode against the cliff. (End song.)

"Rack! I'm done messing with this brat!" Grunty stomped. "It's too exhausting with my suit so fat. I must return to my team. 'Til we meet again, you windy gleam!" The witch Disapparated.

"Sigh… My feet hurt." Wendy sighed, rubbing her soles.

"Put your sandals back on, Child."

"That wasn't a bad performance." Ezlo said, popping out of Wendy's backpack before hopping to the ground.

"Oh, Mr. Ezlo! I almost forgot about you."

"You're utilizing your Air and magic well. But I'm sure there's more you can do with both powers combined. I hope you will train yourself to learn that." The Minish turned and began to leave.

"Huh? Mr. Ezlo, where are you going?"

"I was in the middle of traveling when you came." Ezlo stopped. ("No, you were meditating." Carla mumbled.) "I was happy to give you a brief instruction, but I'm not making it a full-time job."

"Oh… I understand." Wendy frowned. "…Mr. Ezlo? I promise not to get involved in dark magic."

"…" He was silent for a minute before turning to her. "I believe you, Child."

"…Hehe." Wendy blushed. "Good-bye, Mr. Ezlo." She raced across the field, to the train station.

Ezlo watched her become a dot in the distance, impressed by her speed. "Hnn, no doubt… she is his daughter."

From the sky above, a tan-skinned fairy with pink hair had recorded the events on his camera. He poofed away.

 **Fairy World Throne**

In the vacant hall of the Fairy World Royal Throne, the princess sat all alone. She glowed like a sun, with massive butterfly wings of neon colors. Her golden hair was big and long like a curtain, and she had strict green eyes. Her pink dress with blue diamonds on the waist ended at her bare feet.

The fairy cameraman poofed before her. "Princess Mavis: I recorded footage of the 'Windy' child fighting Gruntilda."

"Let me see."

So the fairy showed her the recorded battle. Mavis analyzed Wendy's moves, her skills and powers. The camera also recorded shots of her running across the Climate Plains. "…Tell Jorgen to call the fairies off. She isn't dangerous." Mavis ordered.

"What? But how can you tell?"

"Because she doesn't look dangerous!" Mavis smiled brightly. "She actually looks fun!"

"But… she…"

"Trust me, Butch." Mavis winked. "I'm a pretty good judge of character."

 **Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

Wendy and Carla used their Floo Powder to warp through the fireplace in the train station, and returned to the emporium. "Mr. Facilier, we're back."

"Already?" Facilier grinned cheerily. "Did you find him?"

"We did!" Wendy beamed. "I'm learning how to control my wind curse now!"

"Really? That's amazing!"

"But while we were there, we were attacked by Gruntilda again." Carla informed. "It seems she made a bargain with the fairies to capture Wendy."

"What? After that mess she caused in Orchid Bay, they actually trusting her? ?"

"She seemed to pin the blame on Wendy. If they come after us, we have to try and reason with them."

"I hope that we can." Wendy said. "I just can't take anymore drama. But Mister Facilier, weren't you going to show me your wand?"

"Ahh, that's right! Well, grab a seat, girls, and the good doctor will give you a show!"

Wendy jumped up to the chair and sat, then set Carla on her lap. Facilier pulled the yellow ball off the tip of his cane. "Wendy Marvell and Carla, Doctor Facilier presents to you… a one-in-a-few of its kind, premium edition… Devil's Wand!" He pulled out a blackish-brown wand with pale red designs over it. "Illegal in over 102 countries, including five Dolphin Republics, only usable by wizards who have made deals or have contacts with demons of high authority!"

"Woooooow!" Wendy gaped.

"You grow more suspicious by the minute." Carla stated. "Just how did you come by an item like that?"

"Well, when I was a kid, I was hit with a spell from the Demon King, Malladus, enhancing my magical abilities. 'Course, no decent store would sell a Devil's Wand, thankfully I found one in the Negaverse for an expensive price. (Er, expensive is cheap there.)"

Facilier put the wand back in his cane and screwed the cap back on. "Now, Wendy, if people knew I were using a Devil's Wand, it would not sit pretty. That's why I want you to _promise_ not to tell anyone else. A'ight?"

"All right, Mister Facilier." Wendy nodded. "I promise I won't betray your trust!"

"Ah knew I could count on you." Facilier patted the girl's head. "So, how about we go someplace and you show me whatchu learned?"

"Sounds great!"

The strip of triangle-shaped paper with the eye drawn saw from the ceiling hatch's gap. The Devil Wand caught its attention.

* * *

 **Ezlo comes from _Zelda: Minish Cap_ , and Mavis is from _Fairy Tail_. Also, that blue fairy in the Climate Plains was Spree, a fairy OC I adopted from a deviantART user. She's an artist who wants to draw all the world's creatures, so she'll make cameos around animal enemies. In a couple chapters, we will get to the titular focus of the Original Worlds Arc. Stay tuned.**


	16. Whereabouts of the Few

**This chapter is short and is mostly a setup. But next time is when the real action begins.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-16: Whereabouts of the Few_**

 **Reykjavík,** **Iceland**

Egroeg and AlyakAm waited for a chance to steal the spare S.C.A.M.P.E.R. in the Uno House. When Sector V went on a mission to Dressrosa, the siblings seized the chance. It took them a while to find Iceland's location in the Posiverse; it was in the opposite direction it usually would've been. They saw a treehouse growing from a house they recognized as their own.

"I wonder if our parallels are home." Egroeg asked tonelessly as they stepped off the ship, which they parked in the front yard.

"We can determine that by our Positive mother's reaction if we knock." AlyakAm replied.

With that, the younger sister knocked on the house's front door. A woman who looked like their Positive mother, Misty King, answered. "George, MaKayla! Welcome back from space!" She grinned.

"I guess they aren't home." Egroeg said.

"Who's not home, George?"

"Greetings, Mother." AlyakAm spoke with a higher tone, in attempt to sound like how she perceived her Positive to sound. "Is Father—I mean, Mr. King—I mean… yes, Father, is he home?"

"N…No, he's still at the Great Clock." Misty replied, confused by her daughter's behavior. "He should be back by tomorrow…"

"That is well." Egroeg said. "We will go up to our rooms, and change clothes, and brush our teeth, and look over Kids Next Door files. You do not need to come check on us, because we will be down for dinner."

The two kids with their blank expressions entered the house as Misty watched them. She couldn't shake the feeling that they sounded too much like robots today.

Egroeg and AlyakAm passed their Positives' rooms and entered their parents' room. AlyakAm searched the closet, moving the couple's clothes aside to find nothing unordinary. She picked up a book leaned against the closet's corner. It was a copy of the Avalaran fairytale, _Fairy Sisters_ … there was a white tape under the title, but AlyakAm couldn't pick it off. "Meh." She put the book back in the closet, not thinking it was relevant.

Egroeg searched the nightstand drawers. There was a crayon drawing of Jagar and Yuki, smiling and holding hands. There was a drawing of a six-fingered hand. There was a drawing of a smiling green skull with green eyes. Egroeg decided to search under the bed. He pulled out a heavy book and read its title. "AlyakAm, look at this." His sister walked over and looked at the book on the floor. Its cover depicted a body of green mist, with a hooded head on its top and bottom. _Ghosts of my Family_ , by Alexander Pines. (Illustrations by Trevor Wickens.)

They turned the book over and read the description on the back. _For as long as I can remember, I was haunted by green ghosts. My father claimed that he too was haunted, and that his father was haunted… So I sought to learn the truth behind these spirits which I have called Shimmers. My colleague, Trevor Wickens, and I travel to find a way to delve into the hidden confines of the human mind and discover the meaning of dreams._

"We should look up the online reviews and see if it's any good." AlyakAm said.

Egroeg opened the book—there was a paper taped inside the back cover. _See also: Diary of Stanford Pines. … No, I am not an egotist._

They searched the room, but found no trace of any supposed diary. "AlyakAm… do you suppose our Positive father keeps things in the basement, too?"

The siblings quietly crept down the stairs, seeing Misty was cooking in the kitchen. They snuck into the door they recognized as the basement entrance. Instead of finding a meeting room where their father gathered a bunch of intergalactic supervillains, there was dusty junk piled in the basement. There was an upside-down poster of a tree hanging on the wall… no, apparently the tree itself was upside-down, and a room underneath the tree was circled.

Egroeg found a dusty book laying on its front. _Diary of Stanford Pines_. "Why are these people so fascinated with these… Pine Trees?" AlyakAm asked.

"AlyakAm, you remember the stories our father has told us, right?" Egroeg asked, flipping pages of the diary. "The connections I'm drawing from these books is much too similar. Which means that, perhaps somewhere in here, is a clue as to how…?" He glimpsed at a peculiar page with bolded writing.

 _Dear Diary: ASTONISHING! Today, I learned the equation that baffled scientists for eons: the equation that can cancel the seal of any chi-block anywhere! I wrote it in my journal—but don't tell anyone!_

"UUUUGH, another book we have to find!" AlyakAm groaned.

"Now I understand how Mr. King stole from Father." Egroeg said, looking at the poster of the upside-down tree.

"You are right, Brother. But the question remains, where did he hide the-"

 _Knock knock knock_ , the sound rang from upstairs. _"Oh, maybe it's Jagar!"_ Misty's voice cheered, making no sound with her bare feet as she fast-walked to answer it.

Adrenaline filling them, Egroeg and AlyakAm went up the basement stairs and peeked through the door, watching Misty about to answer the front door. "What if it's our Positives? Or worse, Mr. King?" Egroeg asked.

"If it's our Positives, we can make the claim we were just doing a playful prank." Alyak said. "If it's their father, I vote to sacrifice you."

"Why? It's not like their powers can effect us."

"But if he knows that equation, he can."

Misty answered the door. "Oh, Miyuki, hello! And I see you brought friends over. Lemme see, you kids were… Dillon York and Melody Jackson, right?"

"Haha, I guess they are!" Ikuyim's cheery voice said. "Hi, Positive Egroeg and AlyakAm's Mother! We're looking for our friends, Egroeg and-"

"GUYS!" Egroeg shouted (still sounding a bit toneless) as he and Alyak ran up to them.

"THERE you two are." Nollid stated. "We need to talk to you about a few things."

"Kids, what's going-" Misty tried to ask.

"They're here for a study project," Egroeg and Alyak rushedly pulled Ikuyim and Nollid upstairs, "we'll just be up in our room again, no check!"

Misty looked down at Ydolem's solemn smile and creepy white eyes. "I enjoy your choice of décor." Ydolem said before calmly following the others upstairs.

The five kids gathered in George and MaKayla's room, and slammed the door. "All right," Nollid began, "I don't know if you heard, but Nerehc was possessed by the goddess, Medusa, who apparently wiped all our memories of his existence until a while ago. The last thing he and Sipa remember was leading you two to the Posiverse to meet your matches. Is that just a coincidence? If not, why did you end up finding your way here by yourselves? You didn't notice that they didn't follow along?"

"That's why we volunteered to come here and look for you." Ydolem said.

"Actually, she kinda just wanted to come outta nowhere." Ikuyim mentioned.

"I have a reason. AlyakAm…" Ydol stared at the female Gnik. "You were the one who came to me that night, weren't you? On the night before my brother became a traitor… you were the one who made me keep that secret."

AlyakAm was silent. "Wait…" Nollid said, remembering that night, "you mean the secret you wanted me to transfer out of your mind?"

"…Your vow is to keep secrets, isn't it?" AlyakAm asked. "So whatever this secret is… you should hold by your word."

"But is what you're doing here have to do with that secret?" Ydolem asked. "Because… why else would you come here alone?"

"Questioning her on a supposed secret?" Egroeg asked. "You're a hypocrite, Ydol."

Ydolem looked saddened, folding her hands behind her and leaning forward. "I…"

Someone knocked on the door. Egroeg answered, finding Misty standing there. "Mother…"

"…You kids… are Negatives, aren't you?"

"If you know what our Positives look like," Nollid began, "then we thought you would catch on to us earlier. We didn't mean to intrude, we just wanted to bring these two home."

Misty looked at her Negative children. "…If you two are my kids' Negatives, then your father must be…"

The two made a break for the room's dresser mirror—Misty used her timebending to freeze the room in time. Nollid, Ikuyim, and Ydolem stood like statues, frozen with shocked expressions. Egroeg and AlyakAm observed their frozen forms. "Whuh…" Misty was confused as to why they didn't freeze. "Why are you still…"

Egroeg and AlyakAm pulled up their shirts. Japanese symbols were inscribed on their bellies. "Our father cut these chi-blocks into our bodies to make us immune to all forms of bending." Egroeg explained. "Except, of course, to the bending of the Lord of Time, according to Father. You must know his name. It's _."

Misty stared at him confusedly. AlyakAm glanced at Ydolem. "Oh. It seems the Secret-Keeping Spell is still in effect." She said. "Our father forbade us from speaking his name, so I told it to Ydolem, and it seems Nollid ensured that no one but her or me would be able to utter it."

"I wonder if we told her the equation to disable chi-blocks, no one would be able to use it." Egroeg said.

"You kids-!" Misty lunged to grab them, but Egroeg and AlyakAm dodged and jumped the woman, bringing her to the floor.

"You know, if I killed Egroeg, then your son George would die." Alyak mentioned. "And you couldn't stop me from doing so. So you have to tell us where it is. The item your husband stole from our father."

"I'm afraid it's not here!" Misty grunted, trying to shake the kids off. "And I wouldn't allow you to take it back for him!"

"It doesn't matter." Egroeg said. "We figured we'd kidnap you, anyway. According to our father, your husband is afraid to face him. So he won't try to save you if we-"

"Stupefy!" Nollid casted stunning spells to make Egroeg and AlyakAm stiff. He, Ikuyim, and Ydolem were mobile again. "I guess your chi-blocks don't make you immune to magic. When you jumped this lady, your chi-blocks wore her Freeze off."

"It's all right, Miss Posi-Mom!" Ikuyim said happily. "We'll bring these two back home and make sure they don't do this again."

"Heh heh… Thank you." Misty smiled nervously. She watched as they carried the stunned Negative kids out of the house, then she shut the door. "Sigh…" She put a hand to her forehead. "Jagar, why did you have to go and take that thing? Sigh… I really hope George is safe."

 **Fizzuras House**

The Marzipan Pirates completed their submarine, titled the _Ace Swimmer_. It was relatively small, but big enough to fit the five pirates. "So how are we going to carry this thing? Shrink ray?" Augustus asked.

"Better!" Stewie pulled out a ray gun with a capsule of a light-blue liquid. He shot the submarine, and it compressed into a tiny blue cube. He approached the cube, picked it up, and stashed it in the Infi-Cube in his back pocket. "I had Big Mom purchase alien technology from Nightmare Enterprises, too. I kept a few parts in my Infi-Cube in case I would need to build something."

Augustus whistled. "Convenient. How does that work?"

"Do you want me to explain the science?" Stewie asked with disbelief. "Is anyone gonna listen? Gonna remember? You all scientists now?"

"Why would we be sinuses now?" Nel asked, sucking a drop of snot back in her nose.

"All you need to know is if the cube is drenched in water, it'll change back to normal." Stewie said. "So when we drop it in the ocean, it will be ready to sail."

"Alright, then what we need to do now is go to Gumdrop Cove." Augustus climbed in the _Ace Flyer_. The Baby Trio got in the backseat, and Nel climbed in the trunk. "Let's hope we can reason with the pirates."

"You're going already?" They looked to the garage entrance as Ace walked in. "You haven't even been back for one morning. Isn't there a limit on this adventure thing?"

"It isn't just about adventure, anymore." Augustus replied, starting a new lollipop. "I don't know why, but… I really think I need to try and find the Lost Candies. I need to know why the World Government hates them, and why the fairies want me to find them. At this point, we're probably the only people who can."

"…Well, there's no trying to stop you, anyway. Just come back before your mom gets too upset." Ace smiled.

"Hm. We'll see." Augustus smirked. The captain started the plane and took off for the sky. Ace walked out of the garage and watched them fly into the sun.

"AUGUSTUUUUUUS!" Fuming in rage, Henrietta charged outside, hopelessly chasing the plane. "YOU STUPID SHIIIIIIIT!" She bounced on one foot as she pulled the boot off the other. She spun around rapidly and chucked the boot skyward. It hit the plane, but did no damage. "Vhen you get back home, I am putting ein MUZZLE on your ARMS! …Und YOU!" she shouted at Ace. "You just let zem LEAVE? !"

"Uhh… yeah. But on the bright side, make-up kissing?" Ace grinned sheepishly.

Henrietta knocked him out cold with an Armament punch.

On the flight to Gumdrop, the Marzipans saw a redheaded Nimbi girl guiding a ship across the sky. Augustus missed the feel of the breeze on his face. Every few minutes, Nel peeped open the trunk, and one could see her big hazel eyes looking around.

Eventually, they landed on the shore of the light-brown island that was shaped like a wad of gum. Augustus and the babies climbed off the plane as the former opened the trunk. "You alright in there, Nel?"

"Mmmmmm-mmmmmm…" The cavechild was trying to put her mouth around the Rock Nut, baring a loving expression as she savored its succulent taste. Her drool was dripping all over it. "Uhhhh…" Augustus stared weirdly. "'kay, you just stay in here and guard it." He shut the trunk.

"AUGUSTAAAAAHHHHH ( _Gustaaaaaarrrrrrr!_ )!" Gumdrop's bands of Candy Pirates stormed over to the infamous teen.

"FRIEEEENDS!" Augustus happily walked over with open arms. "Glad to SEE ya again!" They all drew swords and aimed them at him. "Ooo, did you sharpen your swords?"

"Gustah!" The pirate with the brown beard and eyepatch – Harold the Helium Voice – shouted in his hoarse, high voice. "I look forward to one thing and one thing a year: the _Davy Back Fight!"_ He gasped. "Yoo ruin it! Yoo take the Fairy Princess for your _seeeelf."_

"Yes, I betrayed the rules of a Davy Back Fight." Augustus admitted. "But Captain Hook captured that fairy by force, he had no right to give her away as a prize. Besides, those rules are ridiculous, a member of the loser crew has to join over to the winner crew? Isn't the key to being a pirate supposed to be freedom? Freedom to make one's own choices and decisions?"

"YER a wreshed liar, ye wreshed flesh wretch!" Gelatin Gerald shouted. "If yush had the fairy in yer grasp, why would ya NOT want ta keep her luscious powers for ya?"

"Why don't we move this to the Soda Can? I'll thrill you guys with a story…"

 **Soda Can**

"Thank you, thank you everybody!" said the leader of the owl mariachi band. "Thank you for welcoming us to Gumdrop Cove, we will take any low-paying gig we can get! We are Los Búhos Musicales, here to tell you the story of Augustus the Stone Fist!"

 _Ohhhhhhh_

 _There once was a boy_

 _Who deeply loved candy_

 _He sought it and found it_

 _In places most dandy_

 _His abuela was BIG and_

 _So round and fat!_

 _She gobbled so much_

 _And made mountains of scat!_

 _One day, she found him and said,_

 _"COME WITH ME!"_

 _So Augustus sailed with her_

 _Across the great sea_

 _To find the world where_

 _They would find their dreams_

 _To great Candied Planet, 'tis where_

 _The Sugary Wonders lead!_

 _But LO, it was a trick, so_

 _Au-gus-tus leaves_

 _He and his crew sail_

 _To find new things_

 _Other pirates, so rageful_

 _So drunken and pissed_

 _But when they cross Augustus_

 _They'll meet his fiiiiist!_

 _Hard as iron, unmoving as stone_

 _The sound of his name brings chills to the booone!_

 _His FIIIIST… of STOOOONE_

 _His FIIIIST… of STOOOONE_

While they were livening the bar with their music, Augustus explained the adventures he has been on since he last met the Gumdrop pirates. "Before Princess Aisling left, she told me to go to Oceana and see a friend of hers. Since these babies can't swim, I wanted to buy some Oxybursts in this town, help them breathe."

"Aye, that do be a tale of thrills and chills." said Bubbly Brandon. "The Sugar Fairy Princess? The one only known in legends?"

"He _must_ be fibbin'." Harold gasped.

"Heheh, it's not a fib! Everything I told you is real. The fight with Azula, the trip to the past, the Rock Nut and the cavegirl I have in my trunk."

"Even if we wanted to believe you, you're wanted among pirates for what you did at the Back Fight." Brandon said. "Helping you would be a crime."

"But isn't that what makes us pirates? ? Breaking all manner of rules to follow one's dreams?"

"Didja not take history in school, Lad?" Gerald questioned. "Pirates always had rules. That's why there's good and evil pirates. 'Tis the Code, set by the Brethren Court, the Pirate Lords of the olden times. Freedom has a price."

"Politics in piracy is total crap." Augustus threw the finished lollipop away. "Even in normal society, rules are meant to be broken. I saved an innocent person, I saved the Fairy Kingdom, and the only reason those pirates are hunting me is because they wanted Princess Aisling for their own selfish plans."

"You got two Pirate Lords and a Pirate Empress on your tail." The skinny Black pirate mentioned. "Good deed or not, you're a cursed man."

"So what, you're not gonna sell me ANY Oxybursts, OR a new sword?"

"It _would_ be bad karma." Harold replied. "'Course, if you wanted to steal such supplies, we could not be held liable."

"Since ya like freedom so much, mangy cur." Gerald followed.

"Captains!" A skinny pirate with a red bandana and striped shirt ran in. "The Silver Bullet from the Slag Pirates is outside!"

"Silver Bullet? !" Augustus exclaimed.

Near the town's shore, the silver robot with the single red eye spotted the _Ace Flyer_ after landing. _"That looks like something Augustus would fly. A real shabby piece of work."_ The robot approached the biplane. _"I hear something in the trunk. What could be…"_

She opened the trunk and found Nel happily sucking on the Rock Nut. The cavegirl looked up at the robot curiously. _"Some kind of unevolved human? Hmm… Perhaps I'll take you as a pet."_

A Gobstopper flew and struck Bullet in the back of the head. "She isn't for you, la hojalata." Augustus stated.

"You know, a remark in your ethnic language isn't always necessary." Stewie commented. "Just call him a tinplate and move on already."

"Will consider." Augustus began a new lollipop. "But I'm afraid you're mistaken, Stewie: she's a girl."

"You see her robo LADY PARTS? !" Rallo gaped.

"Heh heh… no, but her build appears ladylike. And before you tell me robots are genderless husks, I doubt this person is a real robot."

 _"You're very intuitive, Captain."_ Silver Bullet approached him with a gun raised. _"Maybe if you hand me the Forest Fairy, I'll give you my number."_

"I think the question should be, do you want MY number." Augustus smirked. "Plus, you're out of luck. The Fairy Princess already fled. I have a tight schedule anyway, so if you'll _excuse_ me!" The teen ran at Bullet with an Armament fist, dodging the disguised robot's self-named bullets. He knocked the gun out of her hand, but Bullet dodged his punches, rolled behind him, and pulled Augustus's arms back. She pinned the captain on his front, still bending the arms in a cross.

 _"I may be a lady, Captain, but you won't believe how many people doubted my abilities. True, I'm not very strong, but this suit changes that. If I capture you with brute strength alone, perhaps the pirates may respect me a bit more."_

"Heeeeey!" The Bullet turned to find Nel dashing to her on all fours. "Get off of Aughsuuuuucks!" The cavegirl leapt, swung a foot, and kicked Silver Bullet with enough force to send her flying.

 _"Ow!"_ The Bullet recovered and glared at the Neanderthal. _"That brat is stronger than she looks!"_

"Nel knows Rugle Frugle!" Nel made karate poses. "Nel defend her mate!"

"You're too young, Nel, so please get off." Augustus was still laying down with Nel standing on him.

"Hold on, doesn't that Rock Nut make things stronger?" Rallo asked. "She been suckin' it all this time, so maybe she got a power boost."

"Did she now? In that case," Augustus grabbed Nel and got to his feet, "back away or she's going old school on your arse!" he yelled as he held Nel toward the robot.

Silver Bullet aimed her left arm, shot the hand over like a grappling hook, and took Nel away from Augustus. She quickly tied the cavegirl up and propped her over the shoulder. _"You'll have to make better threats than that, August-"_

"Haaaaa-MMP!" Nel sunk her teeth into a spot below the back of the robot's neck.

 _"Don't hurt your teeth, girl. I doubt you know any good dentists-"_

"NYUH!" Nel ripped a piece of armor off the metal suit.

 _"GYAH! How in the world did you-"_

Augustus ran up, socked the fake robot in the chest with Armament, and sent her flying while Nel dropped back in his arms. "That yuckiest rock Nel ever taste!"

"Augustus!" Stewie shouted as he, Rallo, and Maggie ran for the _Ace Flyer_. "Maggie stole everything we need from the candy store! Let's hurry before they catch us!"

Augustus saw a swarm of angry Candy Pirates storming over from the town, swords and guns raised. _"W-What?"_ When Silver Bullet looked up and saw them, she was immediately trampled by the scallywags.

"Hm. Good plan." Augustus smirked, carrying Nel as she ran for the _Flyer_ , stuffed the cavegirl in the trunk, then hopped in the cockpit. "Hasta la vista!" The biplane took off, and the pirates hopelessly chucked swords that dropped after partway, and shot guns in the wrong directions.

 _"Uuuuhh…"_ After Silver Bullet recovered, she was unable to clear a way around the rowdy pirates. _"Damn it—you guys—move aside—I can't see…"_

Little did she know was that the pirates were doing what they were doing on purpose. From atop some stairs, Gelatin Gerald and Bubbly Brandon watched their crewmen act. "Well, we shouldn't be in trouble with the other pirates now." Brandon said. "It ain't like we told them to steal… did we?"

"That's shnotty shwabbie better not be yankin' our licorice!" Gerald yelled. "He better show us that them Lost Candies are worth all this nonsense!"

"Nice thieving, Mags!" Augustus praised, viewing the small sack of yellow starbursts the child had stolen. "This should be more than enough to go to Oceana."

"Mw-mw!" Maggie smiled, reached into the bag, and drew out a Candycane Cutlass with gold stripes. "WHOA-HO-hooo!" Augustus took the blade and lightly rubbed it. "Nice!"

"You actually stole a lemon-flavored cutlass? !" Stewie exclaimed. "How much was it worth?"

"Mw-mw."

"DANG, that's a lot!" Rallo shouted. "I don't actually understand her, but it is, right?"

"Mw." Maggie winked.

"Okay, Oceana," Augustus clutched the steering wheel firmly, "here we come!"

"You remember the coordinates, don't you?" Stewie asked.

"Pull out my phone and double-check for me!"

 **Negaverse; DNK Moonbase**

Egroeg and AlyakAm were handcuffed to a table in the interrogation room. Nerehc paced before them, looking less than pleasant as he tried to formulate a question. "After everything I've just been through these past few days… I dunno where to begin. Just… WHY did you sneak into your Positives' house and try to kidnap their mother?"

"It was a simple matter of 'eye for an eye.'" AlyakAm replied. "Mr. King took something that belonged to our father. We were unable to find it, so we tried to take something that belonged to Mr. King."

"And what was this item that was so important? Gardening sheers?"

"Our father forbids us from telling you… so we won't." Egroeg said simply. "We know you won't torture us at the risk of harming Cheren's friends, our Positives. You don't need to know. Medusa is helping you find the Darknesses now, is she not?"

Nerehc looked at him with a raised brow. "How would you know about that? You weren't around when she…"

The two Gnik siblings glanced at each other. Nerehc gritted his teeth and slammed his hands on the table. "So you DID set me up! You knocked me and Sipa out, giving Ragus the chance to kidnap me…"

"Fine, you caught us." Egroeg admitted. "It was part of our father's plan, too."

"Silence, Brother." AlyakAm kicked him.

"In other words, your father is the one I should interrogate." Nerehc summed.

"It's an unwise decision to pick a fight with him." Egroeg said.

"I'll decide that." Nerehc walked out of the room. Nollid, Ydolem, and Ikuyim were sitting on the bench outside, with Sicnarf beside them. "Anyway, thanks for bringing them back, you three. I'm going down to their house so I can question their father. Apparently, he's the one who staged a lot of this."

"Before you do," Ikuyim got up and spoke loudly, "Ydolem's been keeping a secret for AlyakAm! They were talking about it back there, and it sounds like it's important!"

"Well, Ydolem?" Nerehc looked at the shadowbender inquiringly.

Ydolem turned away. "I can't… I can never betray anyone's secret. I made a vow… to be the most trustworthy operative in the team."

"Ydolem, if you have information that is VITAL," Sicnarf stood over the girl imposingly, "then you HAVE to tell us! As a fellow operative, we trust you to help us, and we trust you not to be gullible and let traitors like those two misuse your trust. So can't you break your lousy vow and tell us-"

"HEY." Nollid held his wand to Sicnarf's cheek. "Her brother did the same thing when he turned traitor. If she doesn't wanna tell us, she doesn't have to."

"You can't be serious. If she was told to keep how to save the world a secret, would you let her be silent? ?"

"Nollid's right." Nerehc stated. "Before the DNK changed its name… Ydolem was the one person that everybody could trust. She was the symbol that we could be better than what we were."

"So you want her to keep the secret?"

"Well… at least let her make the choice to tell us if she wants to. But AlyakAm is the owner of the secret, so we can choke it out of her later. For now, I'm going to their house." Nerehc began to walk away. "The rest of you can head home."

Nollid smiled as he got up and pulled Ydol to her feet. "I'll take you home." Ydolem stayed silent and let Nollid lead her along.

 **Gnik Household**

Nerehc landed before the house where Nega-Sector IC's treehouse was growing from. As he approached the front door, Ghirahim came out of the Devil's Sword. "Master, perhaps I should do the interrogations this time. I'm a _master_ of torture."

"No, Ghirahim, if we hurt the Negative, we hurt the Positive, like they said. Still, if he's in league with Medusa, there might be more to him than we expect. I hope we don't end up in a fight."

Nerehc turned the doorknob and opened it. "Dude just leaves his house unlocked?" The interior was dark, so Nerehc lit a violet flame to see the way. He and Ghirahim walked upstairs, searching the vacant rooms. Before long, they came upon the parents' room. A woman, Ytsim Eneerg, was injecting syringes into a bedridden man's stomach.

 _"I keep the door unlocked for my guests."_ said the man in bed; Nerehc flinched when he seemed to acknowledge their presence. _"There is nothing in this home of impertinent value."_

". . ." Nerehc shook his head, "But then why did you send your kids to take back something that was stolen from you?"

 _"Because the item that was stolen did not belong in this house."_ Ragaj Gnik replied. _"Granted, it did not belong where it originally was, either. I planned to find a way to retrieve it, but my Positive got ahead of me."_

"…Mr. Gnik, are you allied with Medusa? Did you plan for her to infiltrate the DNK?" 

_"The answer is yes, and no. I am the one who verbally instructed Medusa… but I speak for someone much higher. I act for him. I am his voice and his ears… but sadly, I am unable to do more for him."_

"What are you talking about?"

 _"…"_ Ytsim moved away as Ragaj sat up. _"I long to be able to taste… to look at the world around me. But my only sustenance is nutrition compressed into liquid which my dear wife injects me with, day after day. It is the only way this mortal body can survive. Just until… the Final Day."_ He turned to Nerehc.

The boy stumbled back, struck with horror and disgust at the sight. He turned off his flame so the man's features could not be seen in the dark. _"Nerehc…"_ Ragaj slowly swerved around to put his feet on the floor, and approach him. _"For many years, the Gnik Family and the King Family have been doomed families… because we are the only ones who can possibly know."_

"Kn-Know what?" Nerehc backed up.

Ragaj stopped at the doorway and put his fingers on his round head. _"You seek the whereabouts of the Darknesses, don't you? Some are close, but others are far. Since before the beginning, their destinies were set in motion. And throughout time, their journeys have been. And others work to bring them to their fates. Even if they do not realize. I will give you some examples."_ A line of green mist floated from his head to his fingers, making them glow. _"With memorybending."_ Ragaj bent down and placed the glowing mist against Nerehc's head.

Dozens of images flashed in Nerehc's eyes, too many to keep track of—his vision zoomed up to a prison cell, where a vicious woman with frizzy black hair and a broken skull mask, clothed in black, smirked at her captors. She was tied by spirit chains.

"For some reason, my spiritbending isn't affecting this one." Rukia Kuchiki said. "She has a stronger soul. Will you be able to restrain her?"

"I will." Aggie Prendergast replied, aiming her glowing hands at the restrained witch. "Once Ellen arrives, she can search this woman's mind and see what's keeping her."

"RUKIA!" Norman cried. "We have intruders!"

Arrancar stormed the base, attacking the Spirit KND operatives. One of the Arrancar cast a spell to break Bellatrix's chains. The black-haired woman fell on her front and gaped at her savior. "Dolohov…"

"You know where he is, don't you?" Dolohov questioned. "Go. He trusted you to save him."

Bellatrix almost felt like crying. ". . . AAAAAAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Her madness and desire became her fuel, for she flew out of the base faster than the wind.

"Who are you people? !" Rukia demanded, her sword drawn.

"We are DEATH EATERS! We serve the Dark Lord."

 **Mysterious train station…**

This station was so bright, nobody could see, and so white, no one could make out anything. No soul had been here for decades… except one, who continues to linger here.

This soul was writhing with pain. A bloody, shriveled, hairless imp. It had destroyed its soul after creating seven Horcruxes. It tried to find strength… It tried to crawl forward… but its pain was endless… as much as this barren station. And yet, it wanted to keep crawling… because it saw him, just in his grasp, but still so far away… _"Harry Potter…"_

Then it heard something: shoes clanking across the posh floor. A dark figure emerged from the hallucination. It stood over him, shielding him from the blinding light at long last.

"My Lord…" Bellatrix knelt down and picked him up like a child. "My Lord…" She cried, hugging him close. "It's been so long… I wanted to come here sooner… Oh, why didn't I…"

 _"Bell. . . atrix. . ."_ He spoke hoarsely. _"I need. . . a vessel. . ."_

"I will, My Lord… I know someone… who can serve as your vessel. A friend of mine… showed me to him…"

 **Unknown world**

The chamber was composed of glistening white diamonds, smooth and unbreakable. A towering woman of yellow skin and clothing approached the throne. She had a yellow diamond on her chest, and a tiny, slender yellow woman with a pearl on her chest skittered close to the giant's feet.

"My Diamond, we have driven the angels away from the Quartz Training Grounds. They failed to take any of our Power Crystals."

 _"Very good, Yellow Diamond…"_ White Diamond spoke softly. She was twice Yellow Diamond's size, and wore a beautiful white gown that complimented her flawless skin. _"We cannot afford to lose any of our resources…"_

"My Diamond, I suspect that the angels have formed an alliance with the trolls. We must attack their world before they can do anymore-"

 _"No, Yellow Diamond. The project which the trolls are constructing makes them too dangerous to confront. You remember what has happened to the Black Queen of Derse. Protecting Homeworld must be your only concern. Tell the other Diamonds."_

"My Diamond, if we let those organics be, they will keep marching onto our surface and taking our crystals. The troll called 'Sanula' stole five of them last cycle. Our precious Ether!"

 _"Patience, Young Diamond. The amount of Ether in their possession is no concern. But we Diamonds are responsible for maintaining the Ether. Without us, it will go everywhere, and all order is lost. Yellow Diamond… do not try to engage the trolls. Is that clear?"_

". . ." Yellow Diamond restrained her rage and answered, "I understand. Excuse me… My Diamond." She turned around and left the throne, with her Pearl skittering after her.

 **Unknown wasteland**

Thousands have died in this barren landscape, their weapons discarded on the ground. Two men of Japanese ethnicity stood face-to-face… One of them was clothed in black, with long spiky hair, and very strange eyes with an unusual design. _"Madara…"_

 **On the sea**

The next vision Nerehc saw was of a ship, the _Queen Anne's Revenge_. "Ehhh?" Blackbeard looked utterly confused. "I ended up on a different world? How is that possible? !"

"I wish I could say." Medusa replied. "But do you really need to know?"

"Heh… As long as I can still sail, I'll be just fine! Ze ha ha ha!"

 **Underworld Prison**

"For ten years, I longed to sail upon the shore where you had gone…" Davy Jones spoke, sulking in the back of his dark cell. "For ten years, I waited to be with you… And all I was to you… my emotions were just toys-ah. They were nothing more than fickle little things you could mold to your whim."

"Davy Jones… please come with me." Medusa held an arm inside the cell. "I need the Thirteen Darknesses… to make the New World. When I do… I will give you a thousand oceans. I will give you as many as you need to finally conquer your despair."

Jones shot up and grabbed the woman's neck in her crab claw. "I will be rid of my despair myself. I will not be a toy to this cruel entity called 'destiny.' I will not fulfill the duties you had planned for me. I will never give you… my heart."

"…I wonder, before I up and dumped you, were you planning to literally put your heart on an engagement ring?" Medusa inquired.

"GUAAAARDS-AH!" Jones cried.

Blackbeard ran by, holding a cherry pie in one hand while he grabbed Medusa's in the other. "Forget him, he's a baby, LET'S GO!" The chubby pirate dragged her off.

 **Gnik House**

Nerehc fell over as the memories overcame him. "Master!" Ghirahim gasped. He growled at Ragaj, drew a sword, and readied to stab him…

Ragaj slowed Ghira to a Stop. Winding his finger counterclockwise, Nerehc and Ghirahim began to Rewind, from talking to Ragaj to coming up the stairs, and entering the house.

The Rewind wore off when they were outside by the ship. Nerehc fell to his knees, feeling the weirdest sense of déjà vu. "I don't understand… are those people the Darknesses?"

"What people?" Ghirahim asked.

"But how are we supposed to find them? We still don't know how to get to the Original Worlds… even if we could, how do we know where to look?"

 _"You need the keeeey."_

"Huh?" Nerehc looked up. Four small, black aliens with big blue eyes floated down to him. "Wait, I remember you things."

 _"The KEY is what you need."_

"What key?"

 _"THIS KEY!"_ The four Zoni shocked Nerehc at once.

 _Another image flashed in his mind: an ocarina, colored sapphire. "The Ocarina of Time is the key. Take him to Termina, and find it."_

When the vision ended, the Zoni vanished. "The Ocarina of Time? …Take who?"

 **Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

"Really?…" Facilier asked curiously, holding a phone to his ear. "Ohhh, reallyyy…?" He nodded, becoming more fascinated. "Well, if that ain't worth checkin' out… Got it, I know, I'll send someone over. 'kay, see ya later, Stanny." He hung up. "Heyyy, Wendy! It's time for another job!"

"Really, another job?" Wendy ceased organizing a chest and raced to sit in the chair.

"And what masochistic objective do you have in mind today?" Carla asked.

"Oh, don't be like that, Charlie, think of it as an adventure! Wendy, I want you to run to a town called Gravity Falls, Oregon, and find a house called the Mystery Shack. I just got done talking with a friend of mine – his name is Stan Pines – he found himself a couple of shrunken merman heads. I'll lend you some money so you can buy them – and get a few other souvenirs if you want. Use the Point Me spell to find the place."

"I know, Point Me." Wendy repeated quickly. "Okay, it sounds fun! Is there anything else?"

"Yes, actually." Facilier winked. "According to Stan, Gravity Falls has been having weird gravity anomalies these past few months. The town crawls with all sorts of supernatural voodoo, but even this was unusual, Stan says. I want you to poke around and see what's causing them. Then come back and write a report about it!"

"More homeworrrrk?" Wendy moaned.

"I'll bring your notebook, Child." Carla said.

"Oh well, it still sounds fun." Wendy stood up eagerly. "I'll go to Gravity Falls and be back in a jiffy!" She and Carla raced out of the shop.

 **Somewhere hidden…**

The machine hadn't been turned on in 30 years. It was shaped like an upside-down triangle with an empty center. Little sparks lit up within the center, too weak to do anything. But that was going to change very soon…

* * *

 **And that would be next time. ;P The next Side Stories chapter will, in fact, be conjoined with Chapter 30 of the Main Story… well, mostly on deviantART. I'll explain later. Kids, don't sneak into peoples' houses.**


	17. Home?

**Here it is, everybody, the merged chapter with the Main Story, Chapter 30. Now, half of this chapter, starting when we meet Cheren, it's a copy-over from the Main Story. Otherwise, the first act of this stage is new, there's an extra phase of the boss fight, and the stuff after the boss will be new. But if you remember the Main Story's scenes well enough, you can kind of just skim them. On deviantART, both chapters will be one in the same and both story arcs will be featured. Well, enjoy Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-17: Home?_**

 **Gravity Falls, Oregon**

The Point Me spell continued to lead Wendy and Carla as they raced all the way across the country. When they were at the edge of a stone bridge within a forest of pine trees, the wand started to get jittery. "What's it doing?"

"Perhaps it's reacting to a magnetic field." Carla assumed. "This must be Gravity Falls."

"No use for the spell, then." Wendy dispelled the Point Me. "Finding the Mystery Shack shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"No, but gravity anomalies are a different story. There's something awfully suspicious about this place, Child. Please be careful."

"How can I not be with you eying over me, right?" Wendy chuckled.

"Hm-hm." Carla smirked. "Fair point, Child. Alright, then, let's go."

"You got it!" (Play "Made Me Realize" by Brad Breeck!)

 _Stage B-13: Gravity Falls_

 _Mission: Investigate the gravity anomalies._

 _Act B-1: Gravity Road_

Wendy started across the bridge, building up her speed, and zooming around the trees on the snaky forest path that followed. Wendy made it to a straight path, which led her up a hill and off a ledge, landing Wendy on a small field where Gnomes were riding Big Goombas. Carla used Torpedo Spins to knock the spike-topped Gnomes off the Goombas, then Wendy could bounce on the Goombas' exposed heads to knock them out. Wendy kept racing through the forest, crossing a path of ruins where Piranha Plants hid behind stones and tried to snap Wendy as she ran by, so she sidestepped away from the stones' sides. When two stones were coming up, Wendy jumped to dodge the twin plants.

Wendy ran along a swerving road, where trees created a pattern of shadowed parts and sunny parts on the ground, so the top of Wendy's vision blinked on-and-off in these light and dark spots. The path brought Wendy to Lake Gravity Falls, and her keen speed allowed her to run across the surface. "Wendy, watch out!" Carla yelled when a massive, robotic lake monster emerged from the lake. Wendy drifted leftward to avoid the monster, and when this route brought her to a group of jagged rocks, Wendy drifted right to avoid crashing. She avoided the jumping fish as she raced toward a group of yachts fishing in the lake. She flew up a skier's ramp, bounced off a yacht's sail, and landed back on the lake as she kept boosting.

The robotic lake monster – the Gobblewonker – swam alongside Wendy's right, so she drifted left to avoid crashing, then dodged the other boats as she came to the shore. The Gobblewonker submerged below the water, then reemerged ahead of Wendy as she ran up the robot's back, across its rising neck, then the head flung her into the air as she flew toward the pine trees. Wendy bounced across the tree tops before landing on the forest ground and running toward a cliff. A blue light suddenly flashed over the land, and Wendy was lifted off her feet and floating. "Whooooaaa! Is this what Mr. Facilier was talking about? ?"

"Aaaah!…" Carla felt no air under her wings and floated without flying. They floated above the first cliff, but GUN Beetles were waiting above, electrifying their selves in the hope Wendy would touch. The mage avoided, and the gravity lifted her higher as she floated above the next ledge. GUN Hunters appeared rooted to the ground, shooting Wendy from their positions, but she evaded and was lifted above the next ledge. Spike traps covered this ground, but if Wendy maneuvered around their path quick enough, she could get a Fire Soul at the end. Sadly, she failed, and the gravity brought her to the next foothold.

The gravity returned, allowing Wendy to run up a steep hill. She ran off a ledge at the top, and she landed on an abandoned train track bridge that hovered miles over the town. She had an amazing view of the valley, and the track was between two cliffs facing each other. As she raced across the great bridge, a gray pterodactyl swooped over in attempt to grab her, but Wendy slid to avoid its talons. The pterodactyl came back, swooping its whole body across the bridge's surface, so Wendy jumped to avoid. The pterodactyl came from behind, and the bridge was about to go into a tunnel sealed by wooden boards. "Reducto!" Wendy destroyed the boards with the explosive spell, escaping inside the tunnel before the dactyl caught her.

Wendy grinded some rails that felt too close to each other and made jumping rails uneasy, especially since they led her over a narrow river of lava where fireballs bounced up. "I can see why they closed the tracks." Carla said. Wendy landed on stable ground as the cave curved and sloped down left, but soon had to run across the left wall over another lava river. A fireball jumped in her way, so Wendy jumped to the right wall, she felt the gravity steadily weighing her toward the lava, but her heart could relax when she made it to the safe ground just in time.

As the tunnel sloped lower, Wendy and Carla arrived at a great, vast cave glowing with orange. They were gigantic chunks of frozen tree sap… and dinosaurs of all types were sealed inside. "Wow! Carla, look! Dinosaurs!"

"Are they frozen in tree sap?" Carla observed. "I read a theory that said tree sap had ice-like properties, but I dismissed them as hogwash."

 _"Welcome to Jurassic Sap Hole!"_ A gruff voice spoke from a tower with a speaker. _"For just 10 dollars, join a tour to see real live dinosaurs! For an extra 20, you're allowed to taste the sap! The-Mystery-Shack-is-not-responsible-for-any-paying-customers-devoured-or-dismembered-during-tour."_

"It seems we're getting close." Carla said. The girls admired the sights as they trotted (and flew) through the cave. When they passed a tunnel to another cave, a gravity anomaly appeared and forced them to float. Huge drops of tree sap fell from above, and Wendy was unfortunately pushed down and stuck to the ground by one. She used Incendio to melt the sap off and floated up again. She made it onto a ledge by the time the gravity returned. There was a cave drawing of a caveman with a Stone Fist, punching a green caveman while a pterodactyl family cheered.

Wendy ran right along the path before entering another tunnel. This cave had a chasm on her left, with minecart tracks leading to a nest with a baby pterodactyl. The baby was guarding a Fire Soul, and seemed to change position to face a certain track rail. Wendy grinded on the rail he wasn't in front of, but the baby reacted by flying at and knocking Wendy off. Thankfully, she bounced on a large mushroom on the ground below, and used a stairway of these mushrooms to get back up to the ledge. Wendy decided to grind the rail the dactyl was facing – because its eyes were far apart, the avian couldn't see her coming, then Wendy could jump the baby, get the Fire Soul, and grind back.

Wendy raced into the next room, which featured a T-rex inside a weak chunk of sap. She went up a slope onto the left ledge, and from there could cross a path passing the front of the rex's face. Wendy boosted across—the dino's head broke free and snapped its teeth on the path, missing Wendy by an inch. In the next room, Wendy jumped in a stronger steaming geyser that propelled her out of the cave and into fresh air. She raced a new path, coming to a ray of purple light just before a stone. When she zipped past the light, she shrank in an instant, and went through a hole under the rock.

This path was filled with flat stones, and tiny Wendy ran up a slope onto the first rock, then could either jump across the others or run on the low path. These rocks brought her to a mini spring that bounced her to a mini path on the left ledge. She climbed some stone pillars before a blue light stretched her to normal size, allowing her to grab a Fire Soul. From here, Wendy passed the flat stone path, climbed onto a short ledge, and touched a purple light to shrink again. She raced up a spiraling path going around a tree, and squirrels came out of holes to chase the little prey. Wendy jumped off the end of that path, landing safely on Carla's head.

"Better let me handle this." The cat said as she carried Wendy. Giant spiders hung down on webs, hungry to feast on the winged prey. Carla evaded their webs, making several turns around trees as she tried to find another blue light for her friend. Carla eventually hovered above a wider spider web, seeing a blue light shine on the ground below. Wendy jumped off, fell through the web's gaps, and hit the light to poof back to normal.

Skulltulas hung down everywhere in this field, while some dropped on the ground to approach the blue-haired delicacy. Wendy casted quick blasting spells to defeat the hideous creatures, and once she beat the ones hanging from the web above, the web dispersed and Carla was able to come down. She lifted her owner above a ledge, escaping the field and running a new path.

Finally, Wendy made it to the actual town, passing glances at all the happy-go-lucky citizens. She decided to make turns around all the city's streets. She sped past Lazy Susan and spun the woman around as she cried, "Wooooowwwwhhhh!" She jumped on the roof of Bud Gleeful's car store, jumped on the Discount Prices dollar sign, and rode it partway across town before jumping in the miniature golf course. She ran to the windmill, grabbed one of its blades, and spun it faster with her airbending before it broke off and flew away – exposing the little golfball people inside the tower. Wendy raced past more forest, touched a purple light that shrunk her, and used her small size to skid across the surface of Gravity Falls Pool. She dodged the water balloons thrown at her before a kid's splash knocked her back onto land, and she touched another blue light outside the pool's fence.

Wendy got back to town and raced down a street leading into the forest. The sign read _Mystery Shack_ , and before long they saw the secluded house. Wendy slowed before the front door and entered. (End song.)

The girl and kitten caught their breath after that invigorating run. Carla set foot on the floor to rest her wings. "Yo, what up!" a redheaded teen girl called from the register. She wore a green patterned shirt and a lumberjack hat. "Welcome to the Mystery Shack. Say, are you new in town? 'Cause I would _definitely_ recognize hair like that."

"Yes, I am." Wendy smiled. "My name's Wendy."

"No _way_ , my name's Wendy, too!"

"It is?"

"Shyeah! That must mean we're, like, brethren or something. Aw, and you even like green, dude we should totally hang out sometime."

"Not when you're working!" A gruff old man stated as he walked in. He wore a black tux, had a big round nose, and wore a maroon fez with a yellow Pac-Man-like shape. "Say, are you the person Dr. Facilier said would come over?"

"Yes, I am! Are you Stan Pines?"

"The one and only."

"Hello, Mr. Pines. Do you still have those shrunken merman heads?"

"Right here!" He held up the three shrunken heads, whose pale skins had a tannish tone about them.

"How do we know they're not ordinary shrunken heads?" Carla asked.

"Why would they be? I found them in the lake, what would they be if not merpeople?"

Wendy felt a little creeped out. "I, um… Maybe we should buy something else… I hope Dr. Facilier doesn't mind."

"Sigh, suddenly everybody's a paranormal critic. Fine, feel free to shop around." Stan walked away. "Corduroy, make sure she doesn't shoplift."

Wendy Corduroy's cellphone went off. When the teen checked it, the called ID read _HIII_. "Oooo, I gotta go do something. Catch ya later, Little Wendy." She hopped over the desk. "And if Stan asks, tell him my hormones are acting up." Wendy waved as Wendy ran off.

"She seems nice." Wendy smiled.

"Come on, Child, let's look into these anomalies. We can question Mr. Pines' credibility later."

"You're right." Wendy jumped around and was about to race out the door.

"WHOOA-!" The minute she did, she collided into a brown-haired boy with red glasses, both falling on the ground. They stared into each other's brown eyes for a minute, blushing. Cheren grinned. "Heheh. Why must we keep running into each other like this?"

"Hehe. Sorry." Wendy climbed off and helped Cheren up. He and his friend, MaKayla saw the white, winged kitten behind her.

"Your name was Wendy, right? And the cat was…"

"Carla." Wendy replied. "And you… were…"

"Cheren. This is MaKayla, one of my operatives. What brings you here?"

"I'm doing work for Mister Facilier. You wouldn't happen to know about the gravity anomalies that happen around here?"

"We may've encountered some." MaKayla said.

"We call them 'Gravity Fails'." Cheren followed.

"Hehe. Good name. Can I ask why you're here?" Wendy requested.

"It's kind of a long story. We're here to meet up with some friends."

"Well, we won't keep you." Carla replied, walking around the group. "Let's look elsewhere, Wendy."

"Hold on!" MaKayla stopped them. "Maybe you two should join us."

"Why ever should we?"

"Yeah, Kayla, how come?" Cheren asked.

"They're here to check out the gravity anomalies, and we're here for information about the Apocalypse. I wonder if both of us can find what we're looking for."

"Wait… you know about the Apocalypse as well?" Wendy asked.

"Y-Yeah, we're trying to stop it." Cheren said, scratching his head confusedly. "How do you-"

"Please, Carla, can't we join them?" she pleaded to her cat. "I told Mr. Facilier I would help them stop it, I think we should."

"Wendy, we have our own priorities to take care of, we'll just be in the way."

"But Carla, maybe they can help us look for the source of these anomalies."

"We'd be happy to help." MaKayla smiled. "I can easily track the source with my power."

"It's official:" Cheren patted Wendy's shoulder. "You're a temporary KND ally."

"Really? Great! I promise not to be in the way too much."

"Siiiigh." Carla sighed. "Very well. As long as we don't get too far off track."

The group headed upstairs and approached a room down the hall, guarded by two girls. One was shorter, with long black hair, glasses, and a green striped shirt, while the other was large and bulkier, with brown hair in a ponytail, a pink shirt with 'COOL' written, and purple shorts. "HALT!" the large girl spoke with a gruff, man-like voice, holding a hand to them. "This room is restricted. Only those who know the password may enter! Unless you're here to give me your number, Cutie." She smiled flirtingly at Cheren.

"Hello, Numbuh Pounds. Numbuh Cals." Cheren greeted. "The password is Waddles."

"Numbuh 3621, welcome!" the shorter girl, Candy spoke with a French accent. "Dipper and Mabel were expecting you."

"I'm STILL waiting for your call!" the large one, Grenda scowled with hands on her hips.

"Numbuh Pounds, I told you I didn't want your number. May we enter now?"

"Fine, whatever." The girls entered first, followed by the four guests. "Hey guys, the Supreme Leader's here!"

"All right, you made it!" Dipper looked up from his journal. He was a brown-haired boy in a light-red T-shirt, navy-blue vest, and a blue and white hat with a pine tree.

"I baked cookies!" Mabel grinned, showing the braces on her teeth, holding a tray of cookies. She had long brown hair, a light-blue sweater with a white bird, and a purple skirt.

 _"WOOOOOOOO!"_ a distant, otherworldly applause roared throughout the room.

The Pines Twins looked confused. "What was that?" Dipper asked.

"Our readers are really excited to see you." Cheren blushed.

"I know _I'd_ be excited to see me." Mabel replied. "HEYOOOO!" she waved at the readers.

 _"WOOOOOOOO!"_

"I love those guys."

"Numbuh 2012, you said something about your uncle's journal." Cheren reminded. "Did you get it?"

"Yes! It's right here." Dipper held up the brown book, with a golden six-fingered hand, and a large "3" written on it. Cheren, Wendy, and MaKayla peeked over Dipper's shoulder as he opened it. "I found this a long time ago while I was exploring the woods. It tells about all the weird things in Gravity Falls." The pages depicted the Gnomes, Redeads, and Size Crystals. "Our Grunkle Stan took it from us to think up props for his shop. What is it you said you were looking for?"

"THAT!" MaKayla pointed at a picture of a block with strange writing. "That's the very same rock we found on Planet Glacia! Only Suki was able to read it back then…"

"Well, what did it say?"

"Um, it was written by someone called 'Ichigo Kurosaki'. It just congratulated Suki for being the 'Chosen One', and that there're six more. Also, her power would be important. But let me look back, just in case. Thankfully, I have a very keen memory." MaKayla touched her forehead and closed her eyes. She rewinded her own memory back to when they and Sector SOUL found the Gibberish Rock. She reopened, "No, that one was written differently."

"Wait a second, if this book is about Gravity Falls, wouldn't that mean that rock is HERE?" Cheren asked.

"Hey, you're right!" Dipper perked. "That secret bunker I told you about! What if it's somewhere in there?"

"Excuse me, but I would like to take a look." Carla spoke up.

The twins looked at her—"AAH! !" and screamed. "Did that cat just talk? !"

"And it has wings!" Mabel exclaimed. "It's a bird-cat!"

"I wonder if that's somewhere in here? ?" Dipper flipped the pages.

"JUST give me that book!" Carla shouted. Dipper complied and handed it to her. The kitten skimmed through pages with ghosts, some kind of black triangle with an eye (and red ink written), and what looked like part of some blueprints. "There are an awful lot of blank areas."

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that myself." Dipper said. "It's like the author got lost in thought while writing it."

"…" Wendy glanced at the Lamia Scale in her hand. "W-Wait! Let me see it." She knelt beside Carla and touched her wand to the book. "Aparecium." A light glow emitted, then faded. Everyone stared as faint white writing appeared on the current page.

Dipper gasped. "How did you do that?"

"It's a Revealing Charm. Mister Facilier taught me how to do it when he talked about invisible ink."

"Invisible ink…" Dipper took the book and excitedly flipped the pages. "I don't believe it! It's a whole bunch of mysteries I didn't even know about! So many more things to-"

"Yes, yes, Season 2 was a hoot, flip back to the Gibberish Rock!" MaKayla demanded.

"R-Right, right." Dipper hurriedly flipped to said page. "Yes, there's writing! 'I discovered this rock when I was in Germany, doing research for a company. I visited a local art gallery and found this rock in its basement. I tried to translate the language to the best of my abilities, but no luck.' There's also a code—Mabel, write this down: 9-6 / 25-15-21 / 23-1-14-20 / 8-5-12-16 / 1-19-11 / 13-1-18-25. We'll decode that later."

"So the rock isn't here." MaKayla said with disappointment. "It was just research."

"No, come on, there has to be something!" Dipper flipped more pages and skimmed the invisible ink. "AHA! !" He startled them with his sudden outburst. "Lookathis!" He showed them a drawing of a pyramid, with similar writing as the Gibberish Rock. It was made with invisible ink. "'I discovered this in one of the dimensions. Its stone and symbols are very similar to the cube from my world. There is definitely a connection. I want to continue researching, but using the machine too much is very risky. I wonder if he would know anything'… Who?"

"What machine is he talking about?" Cheren asked.

"I think it's this." Dipper flipped to the blueprint page. "I never found out what this was, but I assumed it's part of a design for some… alien machine." There was invisible ink. "'At last, I found the Original Worlds!'."

"I've seen just about enough." Cheren stated. "Dipper, take us to this secret bunker you told me about."

"I wonder if this has to do with the gravity fails!" Wendy said excitedly. "Carla, we have to check it out!"

"What if Dr. Facilier is expecting us, we can't spend too long."

"You know, she kinda showed us the invisible ink." MaKayla noted. "Who says a little magic can't be helpful?"

"Yeah, Carla, it'll be fun! I'm sure Mister Facilier wouldn't mind."

"Perfect." Cheren smirked confidently. "We're cracking the mystery behind these rocks today!"

"Who are these girls again?" Dipper asked.

"MaKayla, from Sector IC." The timebender responded.

"My name's Wendy." The mage bowed. "This is my cat, Carla."

"Um, no offense, but we kind of already know a Wendy." Dipper said. "So I'm gonna call you… Uhhhh…"

"BLUE GIRL!" Mabel shouted.

"Yeah, that's it! Blue Girl!" Dipper agreed. "Is that okay?"

"Um… I guess so." Wendy looked down and shifted her feet.

Cheren touched her shoulder and passed a smile. "I'll call you Wendy."

The girl flushed. "Heh heh heh."

"You can call ME Grenda!" Grenda popped up between Cheren and Wendy, grinning at him. "Cutiiiieee."

Cheren sweatdropped, looking fearfully. "O-Okay, sure."

"Boy, you're so SWEATY!" Grenda grabbed Cheren in a bone-crushing hug. "I like sweaty guys with glasses. We should call each other and talk about our sweatglands!"

"EW, NO!"

"Congratulations, Cheren, you got your eleventeenth girlfriend!" MaKayla smiled.

"Wow! That's more crushes than Mabel." Dipper remarked.

"I demand to see Cheren's Romance Book!" Mabel shouted.

Cheren shook his head and pushed away from Grenda. "Look, just take us to this bunker!"

"Candy, Grenda, hold the fort." Dipper ordered as they piled out. "We'll call you in case we run into trouble."

"Oh-ho, _that's_ his excuse." Grenda eye-rolled.

"Want to look at Dipper's Internet history?" Candy smiled.

"Hot dog!" Grenda perked.

The band of kids headed downstairs and to the exit, passing an old man with a muscular body, black tux, and square glasses, who was stacking items on shelves. "Bye Grunkle Stan, we're going to investigate a secret bunker for clues about the Apocalypse!" Dipper told him quickly.

"Okay, kids, be back by dinner!" He didn't look at them, and the kids shut the door on the way out. "Wait… What?"

The Pines Twins led the group not too far away from the shack, to a seemingly ordinary pine tree. "Me and Mabel were playing Sit-on-the-Pinecones, and when she grabbed that branch up there, this secret stairway opened."

"For the record, I won the contest." Mabel grinned. "Now stand aside, kids. I'll flip that switch with my-" She whipped out her signature device, "GRAPPLING HOOK!"

"Won't it be easier for me to fly up and-" Carla said.

"Too late, my Mabel urges are acting!" The Pines sister shot the grappler up, bounced off the lever-branch, and "OW!" hit Dipper's head.

The ground shook slightly as the space around the tree sunk down. Wooden plank stairs popped out of the side in spiral fashion, leading into a passage. Dipper switched on his flashlight and led the way down. (Play "Dungeon 5" from _Ib_.)

 _Act 2: The Author's Bunker_

The group wandered into an abandoned laboratory, with dust-covered knick-knacks, opened food cans, and waste drums. "This is the desk I found that laptop." Dipper indicated. "And we found a tunnel through there." He pointed at a sealed hatch with a turnable wheel.

"I wonder what all these things do?" Wendy asked, taking a ray gun-like device and studying it.

"It may not be worth finding out, don't touch those." Carla told her.

"Imagine how much Grunkle Stan could make for this." Mabel thought aloud, tapping a spider in a corner. She gasped with an idea, "Maybe HE'S the author!"

"Heheh, sure, Mabel. …?" While examining the desk, Dipper discovered a small slip of paper behind the back-right leg, against the wall. He picked it up and read the little writing. "'I knew this was a bad idea. I trusted him, but he lied to me. I need to escape someplace where he can't find me, but I won't be able to come back. I must hide the journals someplace safe and sever connections with my family. To my son, Ruford, if you find this, know that I love you. I know your power will be a great gift to everyone.' …Well-p, I am officially scared out of my wits." Dipper balled the paper and flicked it under the table.

"Look, we won't find anything unless we keep going." Cheren said impatiently, standing by the tunnel.

"Yeah." Dipper held the flashlight against his shoulder while skimming the journal, following Cheren, who crawled into the tunnel first. "Cheren, wait!" Dipper stopped him. "This is a pipe maze. We have to follow a specific path or we'll keep going in circles." The specific path was highlighted with white ink.

"How would that be possible?" Carla questioned.

"Maybe the Author's a wizard." Wendy said.

"There are a lot of spells in here, I'm expecting that." Dipper said. On his instruction, they crawled left, right, left, straight, right right, straight, left, left, straight, left, we're out of there. However, Mabel noticed a group of numbers on the tunnel's side and quickly wrote them down: 1 / 7-15-4 / 23-8-15 / 23-9-12-12 / 3-8-1-14-7-5 / 20-8-5 / 23-15-18-12-4.

They were in a small room in which the floor, walls, and ceiling were made up of tiles, all with strange symbols. "I get the feeling we'll need to touch certain ones." MaKayla said. "We shouldn't move until we're sure-"

"W-Whoa!" Wendy stumbled after climbing out of the tunnel, stepping on a panel that pressed down. The tunnel sealed, and one at a time, the panels began to rise from the structure, threatening to crush them.

Dipper hurriedly flipped the pages, finding one with these same symbols, though some were highlighted by white ink. "Quick, press these buttons!" Carla saw one on the ceiling, she flew up, nimbly dodged the rising panels, and pressed. Cheren saw one across the room, he shot his Hookshot to press it. MaKayla saw a symbol on the floor to her right, nearly blocked by rising panels, she crawled underneath with her skinny form, pressed it, and escaped. Mabel frantically hopped around the panels and saw it in a corner, "Got it!" She pressed, returned to her friends, and they barely escaped through an opened passage.

The operatives gasped for breath, seeing the panels completely clutter the room. Worried, Dipper phoned his wristwatch, "Candy, Grenda. Can you guys hear me?"

Candy's image was staticky. _"Yah, Dipper, is something wrong?"_

"Sigh, good, we still have reception. …Barely. W-We're fine, but if we don't call in an hour, come with back-up. Hopefully there's another way out." Transmission ended. Dipper got his flashlight and journal, "Hokay, let's keep going."

They walked down a stairway into a vast, underground cavern, where a still river lay. The stairs let off on a small islet with spider webs and stalagmites. Mabel discovered a code engraved on a stalagmite: 1-14 / 1-18-20-8-19-20 / 13-21-19-20 / 3-18-4-1-20-5. An arrow sign read _Switch_ and pointed down a left cavern. However, there was no way to cross the river. "I'll go look for it." Wendy offered. "Step aside, you guys." She blasted twin air blasts behind her and raced across the river at super speed, sidestepping to dodge falling stalactites and finding a tall island at the end. She grinded up and around the rails leading up it, suddenly stopping herself before she went off the edge. She stepped on a switch and raced back to her friends, finding that a pathway of barrels floated up from the water.

"Nice job." Cheren smiled at her, and Wendy blushed before joining her friends over the barrels. They reached another tall island pillar and climbed its rugged side. Once on top, they overlooked a trio of floating platforms, which had bladed wings spiraling around and around. MaKayla tossed Time Bombs to slow their speed, making it safer to jump, but good timing still helped them. There was nothing between this current platform and the other, except for the big swinging axes. Mabel aimed her grappling hook, waited for each axe to be away, then fired, grabbing a stalagmite on that ledge to pull herself over. She pulled a lever, forcing the axes to stop, and the kids were able to hop across them.

They then had to sidle across a thin ledge between close walls, still very high above the river. Dipper poked Cheren and showed him the journal. An ordinary line had highlighted white marks, possibly indicating the parts of this ledge that are safe to stand on. Dipper memorized the pattern, so he jumped the first chunk of the ledge and confirmed its solidity; he almost fell, so Carla flew in front and kept him on. He jumped or sidled his way across the ledge, and the others mimicked the action; though since Wendy was a bit more clumsy, Carla held her hands and floated to keep the blue-haired steady.

"Anyone starting to wonder how the _Author_ got through all this?" Dipper asked as they wandered into a dark hallway, using his flashlight. They were in a decaying library of sorts, the shelves were filled with many old books. Whether they were for the Author's research or for collection, they couldn't say. Cheren decided to take a dark-pink book off a shelf and read its contents.

 _The … of Making Pa…ies To a …Sick Child's … Parents … Dependence_

The ink was much too smeared, so he put the book back. Mabel pulled out a red book, then noticed a 14 on the wall behind it. She pulled the rest down to unveil the new code. 6-15-18 / 14-15-23 / 8-5 / 19-12-5-5-16-19. "I wonder if he had any books on the Apocalypse." MaKayla said, skimming the faded titles.

"This practically _is_ the Apocalypse." Dipper remarked somberly.

The earth began shaking, they felt their bodies lift off the ground for a few seconds. "I really felt it that time!" MaKayla rose her voice. "I feel a powerful source of energy down this cave. This way." She eagerly ran forward first, Dipper aimed the flashlight her direction as they all hurried after. The further they went into its depths, the more they hoped they would find a way out soon. (End song.)

In the center of this dungeon, a short boy with a blue tuxedo and huge white pompadour carefully set the blue energy cube, known as the Tesseract, into a slot. He closed the hatch, flipped a few mini switches on the panel, and two tubes of energy sparked to life. A triangular machine with a hole in its center glowed to life, ready to channel its power into the center. Li'l Gideon pulled off his goggles to look. "Is it workin'?"

Bill Cipher, the golden, one-eyed intangible triangle, rubbed his nonexistent chin. "Yep, I think it is."

"There! I helped you fixed your machine, Demon!" Gideon yelled demandingly. "Now you have to help me!"

"Relax, kid, a deal's a deal. But there's something I wanna do with this, first. Our guests should be arriving right about… NOW!" He threw his attention to the entrance, when the operatives rushed in.

"There's people already here!" Wendy exclaimed.

"It's Little Gideon!" Dipper pointed. "And… BILL? !"

"Well well well, if it isn't my favorite saps, Dipper and Mabel Pines!" The twins glared at Bill's comment. "And who are these, some friends of yours? Ahh, yes: Cheren Uno, MaKayla King, Wendy Marvell, and of course, Charle!"

"It's Carla!" the cat shouted.

"How do you know our names?" Cheren glared.

"Please, anybody can figure out THOSE names. I happen to know lots of things! **LOTS OF THINGS."** His voice turned deep and malicious, his body displaying images of Malladus, the World Leaders, and a black dragon. Bill resumed to normal and spoke, "Very nice of you twerps to join us this evening. I was a bit afraid when Dipper started snooping around this bunker. Thankfully, he couldn't get far in without you bunch."

Cheren drew his sword, "What kind of creature are you? !"

"I am BILL CIPHER!" The triangle projected a wheel behind him, with many symbols. "One of the Six Demon Saints! Master and creator of dreams, keeper of secrets, and knower of knowledge! And this is my little sidekick, Li'l Gideon."

"I AM NOT your sidekick!" Gideon screamed. "I specifically called you back to help with Master President's plan!"

"Master President?" Cheren questioned.

"What're you up to, Gideon? How did you get out of prison?" Dipper demanded.

"You'd love to know that, wouldn't you?" Gideon smirked. "Well, for your information, my bail was paid by a special 'friend', you might say. In return, he wanted me to steal Journal 2 back and get in contact with this one-eyed demon."

"In return, Gideon's been helping me handsomely." Bill followed. "Thanks to his resources, he was able to find the right material to fix the machine you see behind me. The only thing missing was the perfect power core to function such a device. Luckily, a recently-departed god has provided me just what I needed!"

"And what does this machine-of-the-hour do?" MaKayla asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Miss Thinks-She-Knows-Everything. My friends, you are looking at the greatest, and only worthwhile achievement the Author of those journals has created. Behold, the Multiverse Portal!"

"Dun-dun-duuuuun!" Mabel sang.

"A Multiverse Portal?" Carla questioned.

"A portal for travelling multiple universes." Bill spoke matter-of-factly. "For you slow-brained kittens."

"And why would you want something like this?"

"Yes, Bill. Wah DID Ah have to fix this for you?" Gideon asked.

"Haven't you ever wished to travel the multiverses? To see what other worlds are like compared to our own? I know the Author sure did!" Bill's eye half-closed in a giddy fashion. "That's why he asked me to help him build this machine to begin with! He wrote all about me in his journals. Yup, there's no person you can trust greater than Bill Cipher! And if you still doubt this wonder, how about we just **SHOW YOU.** Turn it on, Gideon!"

The white-haired child approached a large lever in the corner. "Hold on a second!" Carla spoke up. "A machine that transports to multiple dimensions can't just do so willy-nilly. A device of this magnitude has to burn and consume terrific amounts of energy! This town is already facing gravity distortions, that's just a small issue. We're talking about tearing through our very dimension, maybe even beyond! A machine like this could cause very hazardous effects for the Space-Time Continuum."

"Hmmmm, you make a good point." Bill tapped his 'chin'. "You're forgetting something though:" The spirit turned red and fiery, **"I DON'T CARE."**

Cheren and Wendy ran to attack Gideon, but the boy stretched a hand forward, caught them in a psychic grip, and blew them back. "Oh yes, Gideon's a psychicbender. Did you know that?" Bill remarked.

MaKayla froze Gideon in time and attempted to run and kick him, but Bill flew in her path and stared with his wide single eye.

 _A woman was stabbed in the heart, and her blood soaked the floor of the classroom. Four-year-old MaKayla stared with horror._

MaKayla fell to her knees, and Gideon blasted her to the others with psychic. The white-haired child shook and channeled his power, causing the ground beneath the operatives to crumble. "WAAAAAAHHHHHH!" They fell in. With that, Gideon used psychic to pull the large lever. The triangular machine sparked as a vortex formed within the center.

The kids hit the ground in the bottom of a huge underground chamber. A chasm was on the sides around this floor. "Ouch. Is everyone okay?" Cheren asked.

"I've survived worse." Dipper said, wiping blood from his nose. "We've gotta get back up there and stop that machine! Who knows what Bill's planning to do with it?"

"Wendy, use a Shrinking Spell on everyone and I can carry you up." Carla said.

"Great idea, Carla!" Wendy held up her wand. "Hold still, everyone."

"Hahahahahahaha!" Li'l Gideon hovered above them using his power. "Y'all aren't getting out of here that easy! My other friend will see to that!" Gideon pulled out a dog whistle and blew.

"AAAAAHH!" Carla clamped her ears shut and fell, but none of the others were effected.

They all heard a distant cry that sounded like it belonged to an overgrown bug. Their suspicions were true, for a huge, alien-like creature with slimy white skin and a round mouth crawled through the hole above, and hopped to the floor. Its left arm was bulkier than its right, and it stood upright on four legs. "What kind of creature is that?" Dipper asked.

"Friends, I'd like you to meet the Shape Shifter." Bill Cipher announced, floating beside Gideon. "I named him Glen. He used to go with the Author on his adventures, and he's seen many a monster. How about I show him a few more?" He flew in front of the creature, and Bill's body displayed brief images of several familiar monsters. Glen demonstrated his power by changing into Mukak, Dodongo Dragon, Xitsflicks, and then Grenda.

"WAAAAAH!" Mabel cowered behind Dipper. "It's hideous! !"

"Um, Mabel? …" Dipper wanted to question her judgment.

"Go ahead, Glen!" Gideon cheered. "Show these mouth-breathers who's boss!"

"Whatever you say, Ice Cream Topping!" Glen said with Grenda's voice. (Play "Desire for All That Is Lost" from _Kingdom Hearts II_!)

 _Boss fight: Glen_

"Reducio!" Wendy cast the Shrink Spell, but Glen morphed into Army Dillo and bounced it upward with his armored shell.

"Whoa!" Gideon dodged the blast. Glen came out of his shell and laughed at the operatives. Still in armadillo form, Glen curled into the metal shell and rolled at the kids, who all jumped aside except for MaKayla. The timebender slowed the giant wheel in time, nearly stopping it in place, though it threatened to push her off the edge. Wendy blew a cyclone from her mouth and successfully knocked it down, but Glen transformed into a glob of water and slithered away, emerging to be Chaos 6. The overgrown water insect lashed its axe tail at the lot while they dodged, until Mabel grabbed ahold and let it lift her above. She took out some Ice Candy and threw it into the liquid body, freezing it solid. Cheren blasted M.A.R.B.L.E.s and blew the creature to smithereens.

"Pull yerself together!" Gideon demanded, and the melted ice droplets slithered to a center and reformed the beast, who transformed into Crackjack, the giant psychotic clown jack-in-the-box. The kids scattered again as the monster hopped toward Dipper, grinning madly and trying to stab the boy with its knife. Cheren ran in front of the creature and shot his Hookshots into its mouth. Glen chomped his teeth on the chains, keeping them inside, but Cheren passed the items to Wendy, who boosted away and caused the jack-in-the-box to topple over. She readied to cast a spell at Glen's head, but was caught in a psychic grip and thrown backward.

"Fine! 'Guess I need to help, too." Gideon decided, taking land on Glen's back when the creature turned into Icipede. The Child Psychic held the operatives in place while Glen crawled around to snap them in his claws, Cheren used his Hookshots to rescue Dipper and MaKayla. He then drew his bow and launched Fire Arrows to melt its various ice chunks, so the creature transformed into Dogadon and flew high in the air. The dragon rammed into the cave's walls and caused boulders to fall, which Gideon grabbed with his psychic to chuck at the heroes. MaKayla stopped the boulders with her timebending and quickly Rewinded them back, but the Dogadon form changed its front into Army Dillo's shield, protecting himself while the dragonfly wings remained in flight.

"He can merge multiple forms at once?" Cheren observed.

"I have an idea!" Dipper said. "MaKayla, get ready to slow them, Carla, fly up from behind." He ran away from the others and yelled, "HEY, GIDEON! How many of those things can you throw? !"

"Enough to finally squash YOU!" Gideon grabbed multiple boulders with psychic and chucked them consecutively.

"NOW!" Dipper yelled, MaKayla slowed the boulders in time, allowing Dipper to jump his way up. Gideon clutched the boy in psychic, but Carla flew up behind and rammed Gideon in the back, knocking him on his front. Dipper was released, so he jumped to the Dogadon's face, the dragonfly shaking furiously, but the action caused Gideon to lose his balance and plummet toward the abyss. He saved himself by floating and landed on the ground, but Dipper dropped from Glen and landed on the Child Psychic, wrestling with him. Gideon threw him off, then blew his whistle to sick Glen on Cheren, in the form of a Moldorm.

"Corpus levitas Diablo Daminium Mondo Vicium!" Gideon read aloud from Journal 2, summoning a group of Redeads from the earth. MaKayla kicked Glen off of Cheren, then helped freeze the zombies in time while the swordsman sliced them up. He flinched and dodged aside when Glen leapt back up in the form of Goht, the giant robotic goat whom Cheren recalled was destroyed by Kyurem, back in Termina. The shape-shifter charged an energy beam in its horns and blasted at them, missing and striking a wall over the chasm, unveiling a secret tunnel. The Goht leaped into the tunnel while Mabel shot her grappling hook onto its horn. "WHOOOAA!" It didn't serve her much, for she was flapping behind Goht while holding the device.

"Mabel!" Dipper cried.

"I'll save her!" Wendy leapt over the pit and chased the creature. The tunnel had several bumps and curved a lot, and the Goht kicked boulders toward Wendy, forcing her to sidestep and dodge. The shape-shifter eventually ran off a ledge, into a small lake. "MABEL!" Wendy yelled when the girl was pulled in as well.

A patch of bubbles brewed on the lake's surface, and Wendy's heart raced with anticipation, hoping Mabel was okay. _"RAAAAAAAAHHHH!"_ Glen transformed into the Kraken, its tentacles swinging everywhere. Mabel hung by the grappling hook, swaying to and fro from the demon's head. The Kraken smashed tentacles down, but Wendy ran left and raced along the wall. The Kraken kept trying to stab tentacles in the wall, Wendy sidestepped and swiftly avoided, and as her speed increased, she moved higher up the wall. When she was high enough above the Kraken's head, the minute Mabel was swung above it, Wendy squatted, kicked off the wall with great force, and grabbed Mabel before the demon could snap its teeth.

Glen turned into Crazy Dillo and chased the girls through the tunnel. Wendy ran faster and held tight to Mabel, pulling her by the sleeve, staying inches ahead of the spike-shelled monster. She leapt over the pit, back to their friends, and the Crazy Dillo created an explosion of dust after hitting the ground.

Wendy blew the smoke away as they all searched frantically for the shape-shifter. _"Huh?"_ two voices said simultaneously. Two Dippers stared at each other. _"Aw, man! Not this bit again!"_

"Which one is the REAL Dipper?" Mabel exclaimed.

"I am!" Dipper said.

"No, I am!" Dipper contradicted.

"Why you-!" Naturally, both started to fight.

"I'm not through, yet!" Gideon lit with bright blue, raising Cheren, Wendy, and MaKayla in the air. Mabel looked between the Dippers and Gideon, panicking, but noticed that Carla had snuck behind the psychic.

"Carla! Gideon's ticklish!"

"What?" Gideon looked at her, confused. Seizing the chance, Carla stuck her paws under Gideon's arms and began tickling. "Hahahaha! HAH HA ha ha ha! HAAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA— **AAAAAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!"** His mouth was foaming.

His hostages were released, and Mabel took the chance to take Gideon's whistle, throwing it in the chasm, as well as Journal 2. She flipped through its pages hurriedly. "Look! It says its main form is weak against fire!"

"But which one is it? !" Cheren yelled, holding his sword ready as he watched the Dippers.

 _"It's him! I mean, me! I mean—GAH, dang it!"_ The twins rolled on the ground, punching each other.

"Ooh, I know! Show us your birthmark!" Mabel beamed.

"Birthmark, what birthmark?" a Dipper asked.

"She means this one!" Dipper held up the hair blocking his forehead, revealing the Big Dipper mark.

"HEEE-YAH!" Cheren spun and stabbed his sword into the other Dipper. Glen made its horrendous bug-like cry, transforming into Ripto, Dracula, a blue-skinned girl, screaming with their voices for that time, then reverted to his slimy white form, oozing green blood. Cheren grabbed his bow, aimed a Fire Arrow, and loosed.

"Engorgio!" Wendy hit the arrow with a spell, increasing its size, and swallowing the creature in bright flames. The monster cried in the most agonizing pain, stumbling backwards and falling into the abyss. Li'l Gideon was still cracking up under Carla's tickle torture, so MaKayla made the final blow and stomped him in the stomach, knocking the laugh-sick boy unconscious. (End song.)

"All RIGHT!" Dipper exclaimed, hugging Mabel tight. "We have Journal #2!"

"We can't celebrate now, we have to stop that machine!" Carla reminded.

"Right!" Wendy nodded seriously. "Everyone, stand together." They all stood in a bunch as Wendy held her wand above. "Reducio!" They were all zapped to a small size, leaving Carla to pick them up and fly them to the hole they fell in through.

Once on solid ground, Wendy re-expanded them all, and MaKayla used her timebending to repair the hole into solid ground again. "It's too late, brats!" Bill Cipher declared. The cave was quaking furiously as the Multiverse Portal was spiraling its rainbowy colors. "The portal is almost at 100% capacity! A gateway to endless universes will be mine to use as I please!"

"Not if we shut it down, first!" Wendy ran forward.

"Wendy, wait, it might ex-" MaKayla tried to chase her.

A quick, but sudden energy pulse bursted from the machine, knocking them all down. When Wendy and MaKayla recovered, the girls found their selves floating off the ground, towards the spiraling vortex. "MAKAYLA!" Cheren screamed.

"WENDY!" Carla yelled.

MaKayla was about to fly in first, Wendy reached and grabbed her hand, Cheren jumped and grabbed Wendy's other hand. The Supreme Leader held tight and struggled to pull back. Dipper grabbed and pulled Cheren, followed by Mabel, and Carla in the very back. "NNNN!" Gideon teleported back into the room and blasted them with psychic. The line of friends was forced to release.

"WAAAAAH!" MaKayla and Wendy vanished into the portal.

"MAKAYLA!" "WENDY!" their friends cried again.

The Transportifier began sparking again, the earth quaking at the force of its power. The vortex quickly shrank into nothingness, all of the lights disabled, and the machine was shut down completely. "Yuh-oh… this is problematic." Bill said.

"Whaddyou MEAN 'problematic'? !" Gideon shouted.

"I thought I memorized the blueprint, but the Author must've done something. It didn't stay on as long as it used to."

"I'm TIRED of working on this thing! ! We've gotta get back to Washington NOW!"

"Don't worry, Gideon, we've done enough for today." Bill told him calmly. "I think our friends got a worthy demonstration."

"What did you DO to them? !" Carla demanded. "Where's Wendy? !"

"If my calculations are correct, your friends have been zapped to another dimension! What dimension specifically, I can't say. But I'm afraid you won't be **SEEING THEM** anytime soon. Not until this machine is fixed."

Cheren whipped his sword out, "BRING THEM BACK RIGHT NOW!"

"Sorry, kid, but that's beyond my power at the moment!" Bill said perkily. "But don't worry, I'm sure your friends will survive… as long as they make it through the Dimensional Byway, ha ha haaaa! I'd love to stay and mess with you more, but fighting would be pointless. You can't destroy me, and I don't want to destroy you. **YET.** See you down the road." A wall of sapphire flames sprouted behind the spirit. "Oh, and remember: Reality is an illusion, we're all figments of a fanfiction writer's mind, watch lots of football, bye!" And in a blinding flash, Bill was gone. Gideon had vanished as well.

Carla solemnly approached the machine, staring at the barren portal. "Wendy…" She fell to her knees, her shiny brown eyes watering. "I knew we shouldn't have come… Why don't you listen to me, Child…"

Mabel came beside her and put a comforting hand on the kitten's back. "I'm sorry, Carla. You know, whenever I'm upset, I talk to my pet, Waddles and pretend like he understands me. But since you're an animal, maybe he could understand you for real."

"Um… thank you, Mabel." Both of them looked at the portal. Carla sighed and calmed herself. "To tell you the truth, I don't know why I'm so attached to her. We only met a few months ago, but all that time, I've felt… indebted to Wendy. I feel like I'd sooner die for her than…than let anything happen."

Cheren bore the same solemn look as he stared at the portal. He wasn't personally close to MaKayla, but why shouldn't he be concerned for all of his operatives the same way. "I'm sorry, Cheren." Dipper told him sympathetically. "I wish there was something we could do."

Cheren remembered something. "Your journal had blueprints to this machine, didn't it?"

"Yes, but only part of it. We still need Journal 1. I'm not sure where it is."

Carla stomped her paw and looked at them with pure austerity in her eyes. "Find the other journal as quickly as possible. If it tells us how to fix this machine, make it your Number One priority!"

"We'll try our best, Carla, but I'm not even sure if the other journal is IN Gravity Falls." Dipper replied. "The Author travelled to Germany, so the journal could be hidden in any-"

"Mister Cheren, you're the commander of an army of children with access to a variety of technologies, according to Dr. Facilier." Carla spoke matter-of-factly. "You should expend every available resource at your disposal to finding this other journal. Can you do that?"

Cheren didn't want to admit that half of their treehouses were being taken over by apes. And nearly every other sector was unavailable, everyone was stressing and scrambling over the Apocalypse. …Cheren smiled promisingly and gave a thumbs-up. "You have my word. We'll save both MaKayla AND Wendy. Promise."

 **Inside the portal…** (Play "Sea Bottom Segue" from _Sonic Lost World_.)

 _Act B-3: The Dimensional Byway_

"WHOOOOAAA!" Wendy found herself whirling through a bright, blue dimension; it looked like a tunnel of water, displaying all sorts of surreal images.

"I GOT YA!" MaKayla grabbed Wendy's arm as she grinded on an energy rail, flipping around it as she threw Wendy to another rail.

"Aaaah!" Wendy naturally grinded along, keeping stable as she viewed around the dimensional tunnel. "Wh-Wh-Where are we? !"

"The Dimensional Byway! Just stay on the path and hopefully we'll be safe. Otherwise, we could end up anywhere. Let's try and stick together!"

Their rails were ending, leading to a region where scattered rail parts looped around the tunnel's surface, so the girls made careful leaps across these rails before landing on a single, longer one. The rail divided in a fork, the girls each taking their own path as either rail mirrored the other on their opposite surface. Wendy and Kayla were upside-down to each other—when the rails reached their end, the girls jumped, kicked off each other, landed on a rail segment, and repeated the process before the two rails intertwined.

Wendy and Kayla spiraled down a narrow, snaky tunnel, then their rails turned straight and unwind as MaKayla grinded several feet lower than Wendy's rail. Kayla shot a Chrono Beam to hit a switch on her right, which turned a curve in Wendy's rail to face straight and keep her going. Wendy was coming to a group of propellers that were lifting rail parts, and she had to jump and bounce each one so they lowered down to Kayla's rail, preventing her from riding off. Both rails became level with one-another as the two girls rode side-by-side.

They had been riding through a vast region of the Dimensional Byway, and bubbles depicting a variety of symbols floated everywhere. "Whoa… I think we're in the Sea of Worlds." Kayla said with awe.

"What's that?" Wendy asked.

"This portal must cut deep within the Dimensional Plain. I wonder how far we'll travel?"

The byway was growing brighter the deeper they went, forcing Wendy and Kayla to shield their eyes. "Uh-oh!" Kayla spoke up. "The byway's becoming unstable! I feel a force pulling me the other way… WENDY!"

"KAYLA!" Both girls reached for and grabbed the other's hands tight. Both felt a magnetic-like pull drawing them the opposite way, the light was shining brighter, they felt each other's fingers slip from their grasp… "WAAAH!" Inevitably, both were torn away.

Wendy was sent zipping down an alternate tunnel, hurriedly jumping scattered rails in order to stay on track. The tunnel's direction curved upward, as did the rail, which twisted a few times before leading Wendy over a loop-di-loop. Wendy viewed the bubbles floating around: they depicted smiling and vibrant-looking people, like a girl with blonde hair, a girl with scarlet hair, a dark-haired boy with a cool smirk, a scowling guy with spiky black hair…

Wendy came to another region of scattered rails, in which some of them were more blue and see-through. When Wendy jumped on them, they immediately fell into the spatial abyss, so Wendy had to jump the next rail quickly. The last rail was reaching its end, so Wendy jumped and descended down the abyss, where the next rail was in sight. She felt the momentum increase as she fell, and it was gone so suddenly when she set foot on the rail. There was nothing else obstructing her path as the rail led her beyond the dimension. The realm ahead morphed into lovely, abstract flower designs, dizzying Wendy's vision. Then, as she felt her very being stretch, the realm turned white. (End song.)

 **Unknown city…**

"Nnnn…" MaKayla opened her eyes to a blue sky, with few clouds and a sun shining over her. When she sat up, she realized she was on the top of a skyscraper, overlooking a city with a river flowing through the center. "This place feels… familiar…"

Kayla heard a faint _whoosh_ sound and looked to her left. A girl with raven-black hair, wearing a black robe, and strict purple eyes flew by. "Wait, I know her… She's from the Spirit Kids Next Door…" Kayla remembered the adventure on Arendelle. "She's… RUKIA!"

The spirit operative slowed to a halt at the sound of her name, turning to MaKayla with surprise. "Who's…"

 **Unknown forest**

Wendy woke up to leaves swaying above her softly. Sunlight poked through gaps in the trees and shone on her eyes. "Mmmm…" She groggily helped herself stand, exhausted after that journey. She felt around her eyes. "I lost my contacts again… Sigh, Mr. Facilier is going to be upset."

She heard footsteps quickly trotting across the grass and whipped around. A familiar magenta-haired girl with blue eyes and pretty blue shirt and skirt came from around some trees and stopped at seeing her. "W…Wendy?"

Wendy gaped. "CHELIA! !" Without thinking, she ran at and threw her arms around the teen dancer.

"Waaah!" Chelia yelped, taken aback by the younger girl's sudden actions. "W-Wendy, it's nice to see you, too!" She smiled, blushing. "Geez…"

"Chelia, how did you escape? ?" Wendy looked up and showed the elder her tearing red eyes.

"Escape? From where?"

"From that World Leader!"

"World…?" Chelia looked more closely at her friend. "Wendy… why are your eyes red?"

"What?" Wendy let go of her, slightly offended. "They've… always been red."

"Last I saw, they were brown."

"That's just my contacts; come on, Chelia, you know they're actually red."

"They… are?"

Silence fell between them. There was clear confusion on both of their faces. Why did they seem to know each other, but it felt like their first meeting all the same? "…Wendy, are you feeling well? Maybe you need someone to take you home." Chelia took Wendy's hand and began to lead her along.

"Home? Where's that?"

"Come on, Wendy, don't be silly!" Chelia said with a bright smile. "It's Fairy Tail, of course!"

* * *

 **Here's where this crossover takes a real _Kingdom Hearts_ -ish turn. Next time, Wendy and Kayla explore these new and strange worlds.**


	18. Original Realms

**This is one of the chapters I've been most looking forward to. X) Atbash cryptogram at the end.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-18: Original Realms_**

 **Portal Chamber**

Carla flew around and studied every inch of the portal. There were a few sparking areas, but most of the machine looked properly taken care of. This shiny blue cube in one slot appeared to be a key power source, but Carla had no idea what it was. "So, uh… do you have a master's in engineering or something?" Dipper asked, questioning the kitten's technical knowledge.

Carla whipped around and outbursted, "Well, at least I'm doing SOMETHING! Are you just going to stand around, because the more time we waste, the longer Wendy could be lost in some multi-dimensional subspace!"

"Okay, calm down! Look, the only way we'll have any hope of understanding this portal is if we have the journals." Dipper held up Journal 2 and flipped its pages. "But without the first one, it's hopeless."

"Dipper, look!" Mabel called after getting up from searching behind some barrels. "I found it!" She ran over.

"It…It can't be." Dipper gaped at the book in her hands. It had a six-fingered hand with a '1'. "JOURNAL NUMBER ONE? !" He excitedly took the book and flipped through its pages. "I don't believe it! W-Was it just lying around? !"

"I guess so." Mabel shrugged.

"Th-Th-This is great!" Dipper opened to the pages depicting blueprints. He laid all three journals on the floor, aligning them to make the full blueprint. "Now we might be able to get it working again! Not only that, we can also figure out why the Author made it!"

"Let me see!" Carla flew over, landed in Dipper's way, and stood over the blueprints. The corresponding pages depicted other parts of the machine. She took the books, flew over to these parts (such as the temperature dials, toxic waste chambers), and compared them to how the books read… "This isn't right. A few things match up, but other parts are…" She found a page with an empty machine where it looked like something would go. "What is this?"

Dipper came over and looked at this design. "Another part to the portal? Maybe it's around here some-"

"WAAAAAHHH!" They heard Mabel screaming, followed by loud banging sounds. The two rushed back in to see Mabel fallen on her back, grappling hook extracted and attached to a metal rectangle. There was now an opening in the wall. "Uhh… I meant to do that?" Mabel said, unsure of herself.

The three entered the hidden chamber revealed by her. The empty machine that the journal depicted was standing before them. "This is it." Dipper said as he and Carla approached it. "It looks like something goes here. But the journal doesn't say." He looked at the page.

Mabel picked up a bar light from a box and turned it on as it emitted a purple light. "Ha ha! Dipper, look!" Mabel shone it on herself. "Do I look _spooooky_?"

"Co-ho-mon, Mabel!" Dipper chuckled, approaching his sister. "We need to focus here."

Mabel glanced down at the open journal. "Dipper, what're those white lines?"

He and Carla looked at the journal. The purple light not only exposed the invisible ink, but the machine had a huge, gem-like thing in its chamber. "Is this what the Author used to see his own ink?" Carla thought aloud. "But what is that thing?"

"Wait… I recognize it." Dipper said. "I saw it once when I visited the KND Museum. It's the Master Emerald!"

"So can we use that emerald to power the portal?" Mabel asked.

"It appears to be the case." Carla observed. "If you children know where it is, then I encourage you to get it!"

"You're right!" Dipper nodded seriously. "We'll get the others and bring that emerald ASAP! Don't worry, Carla, we'll save them before you know it!" He and Mabel ran off in a hurry.

Carla returned to the portal chamber and stared at the disabled device. Her little heart filled with worry. "Wendy… please be safe. …Oh…" Carla touched a paw to her forehead. "My head hurts for some reason… sigh, it's probably nothing."

 **Dimension "Fiore"**

Chelia brought Wendy to the edge of the forest, standing atop a hill that overlooked a small town. "What's this place?" Wendy asked.

"It's Clover Town." Chelia answered. "It's in Southeast Fiore."

"What's Fiore?"

"The country we live in, of course!" Chelia giggled.

"I've never heard of…"

Chelia looked at Wendy with a questionable frown. She touched her friend's forehead. "You must really feel sick… Hopefully, Fairy Tail will be able to help you."

"You never told me what that is."

"Ugh, it's the guild you work at! Wendy, don't you remember anything?"

"I remember you!"

"Yeah, but you have a weird story on how we met! Look, we'll talk about this later, let's just hop a train and get to Magnolia."

"Do we need a train? 'Cause we can just run there."

"Hmhm, hyou'd have to have pretty strong legs to run that far."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty used to that." With that, Wendy dashed down the hill, across the town, and Chelia only saw her as a strip of wind.

"WENDY, WAAAAIIT! !" Chelia cried. Just as fast, Wendy came back in seconds. "When did you GET so fast? !"

"I've always been fast!" Wendy chuckled. "I kind of thought you were, too."

"Well, I'm not! I trip a lot, anyway! I admit it seems more efficient, but I can't keep up with you."

"It's okay. I can just carry you like this." Wendy aimed her wand and yelled, "Reducio!" She shrunk Chelia down to doll size.

 _"WAAAAAAHHH!"_ The tiny screamed with high pitch. _"Where did you learn to do this? !"_

"I think something's wrong with your head, too!" Wendy chuckled, picking Chelia up and placing her partway under her dress collar. "Just tell me where to go and I'll get there in a jiffy!"

 _"Sure, Wendy."_ Chelia smiled confusedly. _Boy, she seems really different. I wonder… is this the same Wendy?_ (Play "Camelot Castle" from _Sonic and the Black Knight_.)

 _Stage B-14: Homecoming Kingdom_

 _Mission: Get to Fairy Tail!_

Wendy raced down the hill, whooshing across the first village street and evasively dodging the townspeople, who as usual were whipping to face Wendy in surprise. She turned a left street, dodging the trees and jumping the small rivers that flowed in-between parts of the ground. _"Wendy, be careful not to hit anything! I don't wanna go squish!"_ Chelia yelled.

"I'm sorry, Chelia! I'll be careful!" Wendy was reaching the edge of town, going up a road that was paved into a hill.

 _"Wendy, you're going the wrong way! The train tracks are the other way!"_

"Darn it!" Wendy made a loop around a forest path, coming back to town and hitting some Spring Pads that bounced her onto the roofs. Bird-Knights appeared, avians made of dark energy and wearing knight helmets. Wendy cast spells to knock some away, but she also used them to bounce over large gaps between buildings. After making it across the town, Wendy landed at the base of a forest hill, and dashed up as she sidestepped the Spear-Knights (knights wielding long jousting lances and made of the same dark matter).

Wendy found the train tracks, and on Chelia's instruction, she hopped on and grinded leftward, blowing air behind her to move faster as usual. Shield-Knights sprouted up to thwart her progress, so Wendy had to jump between the twin rails to get around them. The tracks seemed to be steadily curving right, so the forest trees made it impossible to see ahead of them. _"We're about to reach Clover Canyon. Wendy, be caref-"_

"WAAAAAHH!" Caught completely off guard by the huge train, Wendy instinctively jumped off on her left. They were over Clover Canyon, but she thankfully landed on a cliff path, running down, jumping off the end, and using airbending to kick off a ledge. She flew across the chasm toward a pillar holding the train bridge, kicked off to another ledge, and kicked again before landing on a ground. The canyon was very deep and vast, and the chasm was nothing but fog. _"You know, Wendy, some people don't think this canyon even has a bottom."_ Chelia smirked.

"Gulp. I better not fall." Eye-Knights surrounded Wendy, but she shot them down with quick blasts from her wand. Wendy began to run across a set road atop the canyon, jumping a few small stalagmites and avoiding the Crossbow-Knights. "Chelia, what are these creatures, anyway?"

 _"They're knights from a guild called Tartaros. They've been appearing a lot lately, it's kind of worrisome. Still, what I'd like to know is why all these springs are just lying around."_

"That sounds like something worth questioning, too."

 _"Look, Wendy! Flying Fish!"_ When they were reaching a ledge over the canyon, they saw a flock of huge fish with blue scales, yellow faces, big open mouths, and yellow bird wings. Wendy smiled in amazement at the creatures, using them as platforms to get across the chasm. Afterwards, she jumped off on a road within the canyon, following it as it sloped down, turned right, slightly left, then turned flat and straight across a ground that was crumbling. A Crossbow-Knight was launching arrows from the other side, and Wendy avoided them while also sidestepping the weak parts of ground. She cast an Attack Spell on the knight, running past as the road curved right.

She hit a spring at the edge of the cliff, sending the girls flying up to a passing train. She landed on one of the platforms between cars, entered the train, and dashed down the center, scaring all the passengers with the force of her wind. "Sorry, everyone! I'm just in a hurry, usually careful, sorry!" Wendy jumped off the back car and grinded across the tracks before they brought her to a huge train station. Wendy entered the station, swiftly evading the townspeople as she raced up some stairs, and exited onto one of the station's roof levels.

Wendy used airbending to knock down the Crawl-Knights that were climbing up the sides of the building. She hit a spring in the corner of the roof to bounce to the next level, blew down more Crawl-Knights before reaching another spring, and at the top of the station, she grabbed a zipline and flew down to the rooftops of the city. _"You know, Wendy, I don't recall you being this coordinated in your running, much less jumping across roofs!"_

"Actually, it does seem like I've been getting more balanced- AAAH!" Wendy tripped on the edge of a roof, fell to a lower building as she stumbled on her feet, and when she jumped to the next roof, she collapsed onto her back. "Ow… You okay, Chel?"

 _"Just dandy. . ."_ Chelia was dizzy. Wendy got back up, jumped off this last roof, and began to race across a mountainous region. _"This valley cuts straight to Magnolia. With your speed, we'll get there in no time!"_ Wendy made a great leap over a huge gap, landing safely on the opposite cliff as it brought her to a steep slope. Wendy was unable to slow down, she sidestepped to avoid the Spear-Knights, but feared jumping would result in a bumpy landing.

She was glad when the ground became flat at the bottom, but when she was about to run across a seemingly flat plain, a series of stone prisms popped up and created a maze. Wendy attacked all the Underworld Knights she encountered, but the maze really impeded her quick progress. Eventually, she found the exit, and didn't hesitate to boost up the next hill, down the other side, and then skidded across a river. _"Wendy, I still can't believe how fast you've gotten!"_

"Chelia, why are you acting like this is the first time we met?"

 _"It isn't the first time! But you're the one who's acting weird between us, Wendy. …Look! That's Magnolia! Just a little bit until we reach Fairy Tail!"_

They arrived at a very populace town, and Wendy's first act was to skid across a canal, dodging the people on rowboats, whom were naturally looking at Wendy in surprise. She jumped onto a bridge and zipped right into the town. _"Turn right at this next street!"_ Wendy nodded and turned again, coming toward a great cathedral. _"Oops, this is Kardia. My mistake. Um, just go around and go left."_

"Er, okay." Confused, Wendy ran around the right of the church, curved left and raced down an alleyway. She skidded to halt before some Shield-Knights, but her Lamia Scale was easily able to knock the creatures out. Wendy crossed the bridge of another canal, then raced over a straight road as she attracted the attention of townspeople. She thought she heard one of them say, "Wait, is that Wendy Marvell?"

Wendy bypassed the South Gate Park, where friends and acquaintances were casually hanging about. She swerved left, crossing another town street and making it to a central street. _"Wait, there it is! On the right!"_ Chelia pointed. _"The guild hall and Kardia are directly across from each other! Silly me."_

"That's it, huh?" Wendy saw the building in the distance. "Okay." With a determined look, Wendy boosted across town, dodged all the citizens, and made it to the building. (End song.)

It was about three stories tall, had red roofs, and looked like a church itself, given the belfry with the big gold bell up top. An orange banner showed a symbol Wendy couldn't make out, and the sign above the gates read _Fairy Tail_. _"Wendy, can I get big now?"_

"Oh, right!" Wendy put her friend on the ground, aimed her wand, and called, "Engorgio." Chelia stretched back to normal.

"Phew. Now if I could ask you to never tell my guildmates about that. Well… here it is!"

"'Fairy Tail'?" Wendy read the sign. "I thought it was spelled the other way?"

"No, it's spelled that way on purpose. It's based on the idea that fairies have tails, which is what that symbol's supposed to be. …Wendy, I asked you the same thing and that was your answer." Chelia stared at her weirdly. "Are you trying to quiz me?"

"N-No! I… So, is this where you live, too?"

"Hmhm, no, I work for Lamia Scale. …Look, Wendy, since you have amnesia, I'll introduce you, anyway. Come on, it'll be alright."

Chelia held a hand out, giving a kind and trustful smile. Wendy stared at it, then slowly reached over and took her hand.

The pink-haired mage guided her past the gates and to the front door. Chelia knocked on the door. The person to answer was a tall, teen girl with long white hair and wearing a red dress. "Oh? Well, hello, Chelia!" The girl greeted with a smile. "If you're looking for Wendy, she…" However, she reopened her eyes and noticed the blue-haired child. "Wendy?"

"I found her in the forest." Chelia replied. "She looked a little lost and… dizzy. And, for some reason, her eyes are red."

"Red?" The girl – Mirajane – looked at Wendy's eyes and noticed this. Wendy remained silent, confused as to how this woman seemed to know her. "Well, come on inside, you two. We'll straighten this out." The two airbenders followed her into the building.

"Hey, everyone!" Mirajane called to all the inhabitants sitting at the tables. "Chelia's here, and she brought Wendy!"

"Hi, Wendy!" Levy greeted, a teen girl with short light-blue hair and an orange top.

"Back already?" a tan-skinned girl in a bikini – Cana – asked. "You didn't scrape your knee and cry, did you?" She proceeded to drink a barrel of beer.

"Yeah, Wendy, weren't you on a mission with Team Natsu?" a boy with spiky dark-purple hair, and a red vest that exposed his abs, asked.

Wendy gasped at seeing him. "Romeo! What're you doing here?"

"Huh?" Romeo looked confused. "I… kinda live here, sorta. I'm a Fairy Tail wizard like you."

"Like… me?"

The people all faced Wendy and noticed the look on her face. She really didn't look like herself. For one, she had red eyes and pointy ears, and the guild mark on her right shoulder was missing. "Wendy, what exactly were you doing before I found you?" Chelia asked.

"…" Wendy looked down shyly, not sure how to respond. "I…I was going through a portal with a friend of mine… but we got separated. Before that, I was traveling with other friends in Gravity Falls, then we…"

"Gravity Falls?" Mirajane repeated.

"I've never heard of a place like that." Elfman said suspiciously. He was a muscular man with spiky white hair.

"Me neither." Gajeel replied. He had long, spiky black hair, and metal nails in several parts of his body. "Do you think she could be from Edolas?"

"The Edolas Wendy was taller, and…" Pantherlily (a small black panther) stared at Wendy's chest. "Well, yes, taller. However, perhaps she _could_ be from another world, like Edolas."

"Do you think you could tell us more about… where you came from?" asked Levy.

Wendy felt a little awkward with everybody staring at her, eagerly expecting a story. She never felt this popular in a crowd before. Wendy decided to tell them about herself, how she was an orphan with an airbending curse, forced to run around the world. She told them how she met Dr. Facilier, who became her teacher, and she found a weird winged cat named Carla. She mentioned meeting Chelia before, and then how she was sucked into a machine called the Multiverse Portal, along with MaKayla.

"Hey, slow down, I can't keep up that fast!" Gajeel spoke up.

"Good thing you've got me, right?" Levy giggled.

"So you're a different Wendy," Romeo recapped, "but you know a Chelia, a Carla, and a 'me' from your world. What about the rest of us?"

"No, I…I don't know any of the rest of you." Wendy replied. "Wait, there's a Carla in this world, too? W-What's she like, what kind of creature is she?"

"She's from a sentient cat race known as Exceed, like myself." Pantherlily replied.

"Exceed?…"

"Boy, she seems really confused." Levy said to the others. "I'm not sure what to do…"

"You don't have to worry about it." Wendy said, turning around to leave. "Maybe I'll find a way back if I go back to the forest. I don't want to trouble you guys."

"Wait a minute, don't go!" Mirajane grabbed her arm. "We wanna help you."

"Why? I'm not the Wendy you know…"

"Who cares!" Levy said perkily. "Any Wendy is still Wendy. And even if you weren't, we can't just ignore someone who needs help."

"Let's go down to the library and see if we can find any books about this." Mirajane suggested.

"Can I come, too?" Chelia asked.

"Sure, if you want to!"

"Wendy, feel free to make yourself at home." Levy told her as they headed to a different room. "I figure traveling between dimensions can make one exhausted."

"W-…" Wendy wanted to say something along the lines of, 'You really don't have to' or 'Please let me help, too', but they were moving so quick as though they made up their minds and were confident about their decisions.

"Um…" Romeo approached Wendy, scratching his head in a nervous manner. "So, the other me, from your world… What am I like?" He gave a sheepish grin.

"I…" Wendy smiled and blushed as she answered, "don't really know you very well because we only met twice. Ha ha ha…"

"Oh…" Romeo frowned. "That's fair, 'cause I don't exactly talk to Wendy much. Well, maybe we can get to know each other now. I'll tell you about our world, and you tell me about… yours."

"Um… Sure, that sounds fun!"

"Oooooooo," Cana moaned from her table, wobbling drunkily, "Romey's got a daaa-aaaate…"

Romeo flushed. He began to lead Wendy outside. "So, what kind of person… is your Wendy like?" she asked.

"Oh… She's awesome."

 **MaKayla's world**

"Rukia!" MaKayla called to the black-robed spirit girl. "Remember me? We met back on Arendelle!"

"Arendelle?" Rukia asked. "I've never seen you before. How do you know my name?"

"What are you talking about? You helped my friend, Miyuki out? The white-haired girl? Then we helped you guys beat those Arrancar."

"If this is some trick to manipulate my mind, I won't fall for it!" Rukia clutched her sword hilt and threatened to draw it.

"No no no no!" Kayla waved her hands frantically. "Please, I…I'm just a little lost and confused! Can you… tell me where this is?"

"Why don't you explain yourself first, stranger? I'm sensing some kind of spiritual pressure from you, so I can tell you're not an ordinary human."

Still confused over Rukia's lack of memory, MaKayla explained her position in Sector IC, she was a timebender, and she could separate her soul from her body. "I don't understand any of that other stuff," Rukia said, "…but if you can separate your soul, does that mean you're a Soul Reaper?"

"You mean a Grim Reaper?"

Both of them were silent for a moment. "Hold on…" MaKayla thought aloud, remembering the portal she just fell through. "Is it possible… I'm in another dimension?"

"Another dimension?" Rukia repeated.

"Um… Can you get me off this building first?" Kayla asked with a blush, almost forgetting that she was on a hundred-foot skyscraper. "Then you can tell me about this place."

 **On a city street minutes later**

"So this universe is composed of three dimensions," Kayla recapped as she and Rukia walked downtown, "the Living World, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo. Sounds kinda like our Spirit and Underworlds. Except we also have a Negaverse, a Netherverse, and a Dream World…"

"The point is that you're definitely not from around here." Rukia stated. "Whatever this portal is you mentioned, I'm afraid it could create an upset on our dimensional plain. How do we send you back?"

"I don't know. We just found the portal machine recently, and it was constructed by our enemies. It sucked in me and…!" Kayla's eyes widened. "I got separated from Wendy! She has blue hair and a green dress; I don't know if she landed around here or if she landed in a different universe!"

"Calm down. Look, I promise to help you in any way I can. I'll get the other Soul Reapers to help, too, but I can't promise you they'll be very trusting. However, there's one person in particular I think would have knowledge on the subject. We'll visit him first."

"He's not crazy, is he?" Kayla asked with a sheepish smile. "I'm just wondering if I should brace."

Rukia chuckled. "Well, he's… pretty sane. But there is that unpredictable side to him, though."

 **Urahara Shop**

Rukia brought Kayla to a small, wooden shop in a downtown alley. There were two kids sweeping the ground outside: a boy with red hair and blue shorts, and a thin girl with black hair in pigtails, sandals, and a pink skirt with white polka dots. Both of them wore a white shirt with red Japanese letters that read _Urahara Shop_.

"Hm?" The redheaded boy looked up when the two girls approached. "Check it out, Ururu. Rukia's back with some other chick."

"Hello, Jinta and Ururu." Rukia greeted them. "This is MaKayla. She's… lost, and we thought Kisuke could help her find her way home."

Kayla gasped at seeing them. Her most clear memory was of a Girls' Boxing Tournament on Moonbase. "Jinta? Ururu? From Sector JP? !"

"Who's from what now?" Jinta asked.

"Jinta, don't play dumb. I remember you fighting in that boxing tournament for girls!"

Jinta flinched and blushed. Ururu asked, "Jinta-kun, when did you do that? Are you a pervert?"

"NO!" Jinta pointed panickingly at Kayla. "That girl's a liar! ! She's an evil spirit of deception out to get us! Ururu, brace yourself!" He grabbed his broom. "Get ready to fight for your dignity!"

"But I'm too young for fanservice!" Ururu covered her chest.

"Please, just relax!" Rukia yelled. "We think MaKayla comes from a different dimension. She claimed to have met me in the past, but her story was unfamiliar. Let us speak to Urahara."

"Fine, the old man is inside." Jinta said with a scowl. "Go and confront him about his sexual desires, not mine!"

"I wouldn't even have known you had some, were it not for you telling me." Kayla remarked as she and Rukia entered the shop.

"I DO NOT! !" Jinta screamed. Ururu blushed and backed away from the boy.

Rukia led Kayla to the back of the shop, finding a man in a black jacket and a white- and green-striped bucket hat. "Thought I sensed your spiritual pressure, Rukia. But who's the one beside you?"

"Kisuke, this is MaKayla. She's from another dimension. Kayla, this is Kisuke Urahara. He owns this shop."

"You can call me Mr. Hat-and-Clogs." Kisuke stood up and turned around. He wore a green shirt and pants under his jacket, hid his face with a fan, and was barefoot. He had pale yellow hair.

"Ha ha, okay!" Kayla beamed. "You can call me Ms. Hat-and-Slippers."

"Well, the 'MK' on your shirt's gonna make me call you that." Kisuke closed his fan, showing his cool smile. His hat shadowed his eyes. "So, what's the situation, again?"

"I was sucked into a portal and landed in this town." Kayla recapped. "I know who Rukia and Jinta are because they work for my organization, the Kids Next Door. I think I'm in some kind of parallel universe."

"Kisuke," Rukia spoke, "I know this is sudden, and I don't really understand it either, but if nothing is done-"

"Now, hold on." Kisuke interrupted. "I seem to remember something like this happening. It was a few years ago, when I was walking around the forest, I met a strange man in a brown coat who claimed to be from another universe. He called himself Ford."

"Ford?" Kayla asked.

"Yes. He told me he constructed a portal whose purpose was to pierce far into the Dimensional Byway, cross the Sea of Worlds, and find the Original Worlds."

"The Original Worlds?"

"Of course," Kisuke laughed, "naturally, I just HAD to ask him what the hell he was talking about! And before we knew it, we became close friends, and we would be pen pals if we knew how to send letters across universes. He told me about his world, showed me his journal…"

"Then this Ford must have been the Author of Dipper's journal!" Kayla realized. "Mr. Hat-and-Clogs, what happened to Ford? He must have gotten back home!"

"Well, of course. Out of nowhere, a powerful beam of light fell down from the sky, and Ford bid me farewell before jumping in. He claimed it was the call-back system of his portal. He said it was dangerous for the portal to stay on for too long, so he sets it to switch off after being used, but it is programmed to self-activate at a later time and track down his location."

"So if I just wait around, then the portal will reactivate and I can go back?"

"I don't know. But here's something else a little interesting: Ford showed me a drawing in his journal: a cube with strange writing on it. Back when I worked for the 13 Court Guard Squads, I came upon a stone pyramid deep in the dungeon cells. Its writing was similar to the writing on Ford's drawing. In fact, I think I still have the picture." Kisuke went beside his counter in the store and pulled out an old, wrinkled paper. "See? Drew the pyramid myself."

MaKayla studied the picture. The pyramid had an eye on its tip, like Bill Cipher. The writing was indeed similar. "The Original Worlds… the Gibberish Rocks… so they are connected. Mr. Hat-and-Clogs… do you have any idea of the purpose of this pyramid? Do you know anyone else who's… interacted with it in some way?"

"Hmm…" Kisuke stroked his chin. "Now that I think about it… when we were kids, I recall Aizen sneaking into the dungeons just for fun. …When he came back, that's when he started acting weird."

"Aizen?" The name sparked a reaction in Rukia. "Well, did you ask him what he saw in there?"

"Not really. To be honest, I just thought he saw two prisoners doing adult things."

"Who's Aizen?" MaKayla asked.

"It's a long story." Rukia replied.

"Anyway, I don't know if your portal is gonna call you back at some point." Kisuke said again. "But I doubt anyone in Soul Society will have any clue as what to do, so I guess you're stuck here. Why not go for a walk, get some fresh air." He said in a laid back fashion. "You know, since you're new in town, I'll offer you some free samples of my candy."

"That'd be nice." Kayla chuckled. "My money's probably no good here."

"Maybe I should stay with you until you can go home." Rukia offered. "You mentioned that there are Hollows in your world, well that's no different here. I should protect you."

"Hey, I can protect myself, just so ya know." Kayla folded hands behind her head. "But I appreciate it."

After she took some candy from Urahara's shop, she and Rukia began their casual stroll downtown. _He said it was only a few years ago when he met Ford._ Kayla thought. _Just how recently did the Author vanish, exactly? Or maybe… the Multiverse Portal can travel through Space AND Time!_

 **Negaverse; Dnalhsa Park**

"Everyone, I hereby call this meeting of Sector Leaders to order!" Ynohtna announced to the operatives gathered around the park fountain, which the bucktoothed boy was standing on. The participants included Arorua, Ydolem, and Asia. "Because of Egroeg and AlyakAm's recent treachery, Cousin Nerehc has decreed that Sector -IC needs a new leader. And we have all decided that Numbuh -6:00m.a., Ikuyim Latsyrc, is most appropriate for the job!" There was little applause as Ikuyim came to stand by Ynohtna.

"Thank you, Ynohtna!" Ikuyim proclaimed happily. "I promise to do my absolute best to help my sector recover. Honestly, even Yrret is having a hard time being good again, but Egroeg and Alyak, too? ? It really tears at my heartstrings!"

"Why are we having this meeting outside? !" Sector -JP leader, Nirak whined, flailing her arms. "My shoes are getting all dirty, and there's so many bugs!"

"I think a gathering of friends in fresh air livens our spirits and boosts our creativity!" Ynohtna cheered.

"The air might be more breathable than it used to," Asia replied, "but it's still smelly enough to derive us from focus." She sprayed some freshener.

"Maybe, but we're steadily getting there. Look at this fountain, for instance!" The Nega-Sector W leader turned to look in the water. "It's so clean now, we can see our reflections! And look how shiny it is. …" The fountain began to glow. "Eh?"

"WAAAAH!" Five figures came flying out of the fountain, plopping on the ground before the leaders. Ikuyim approached and studied the group of 7-year-olds.

"Huh? Ynohtna, it's your Positive!" Ikuyim pointed at the barefoot boy who looked like him.

"YOOOO!" Another person flew out of the fountain and landed on his face in the grass. His lower half was propped up before falling down, then he jumped to his feet. "Yo, yo!" Killer Bee, the ninja rapstar, rapped. "I was travelin' on a stormy island when I saw these kids, they beat the snot out of some god with this, supah-dupah thundered-up angel, then the Goddess o' Light sent us to this world with a opposite angle, fools, ya fools!"

"Owww… where are we…" Anthony moaned as they helped their selves up.

"'Tis the Negaverse, fair enough." Fybi observed. "The air is noxious."

"You said it, Cous." Asia remarked.

"Anthony!" Ynohtna jumped down to hug him from behind. "Nice to see you again! I missed you so."

"I didn't miss you, Shoe Boy." Anthony broke away from him. "The only reason we're here is 'cause Palutena sent us."

"We were under attack by one of the World Leaders from our world." Aranea explained. "Palutena thought we would be safe in Ynohtna's care."

"Awwwwe." The Negative boy cooed. "That's so sweet of Palutena."

"Yeah, but we don't like it." Anthony stated. "On the bright side, it feels nice to be on solid ground again." He brushed his foot along the pavement.

"Hey, are you an earthbender?" Ikuyim asked.

"Yeah, so what?"

"That's funny! I'm an earthbender, too!" She pointed at her bare feet.

"Oh. Well, you're already cooler than your Positive."

"Anthony, maybe Ikuyim can teach you some new things." Sally smiled intuitively. "You were in the middle of training before we had to help Fybi."

"Shyeah, but Tom was a lavabender." Anthony folded his arms in a haughty fashion. "I bet Ikuyim doesn't do anything close to that."

"Well, my sister is a lavabender," Ikuyim laughed, "but I doubt she would be a good teacher. But Anthony, have you ever heard of Nature Crystals?"

"No?"

"They're supernatural crystals that grow from the Heart of the World and have unique properties. They're very fluent with a planet's very life force. I first learned of my earthbending when I trained to sense these crystals!"

"Okay, so you can sense magic crystals. But I wanna learn earthbending to fight, how does that help me?"

"Fools, ya fools!" Killer Bee rapped. "If nature and elements were used to battle, every bender would be an offender! Then their brothers go tattle, and that's immature, but we wanna be mature, that's why it rhymes with nature, ya dig?"

"Ha ha ha ha!" Ikuyim laughed with a sunny expression. "I think what this man means is, you'll only get stronger by bonding with your element! Don't just focus on the parts that would help you battle better, you have to know why your element is so wonderful to begin with!"

"I already know all that nature crud." Anthony stated. "Chiri taught it to me, how the earth is a living organism that 'cares for its children like a mother' or somethin'. I'm already pretty good at Seismic Sense."

 _"This much is true, Anthony, but there's a lot more you need to learn."_ a woman's voice said.

"Well, I wanna get ta learning the important stuff before I… Wait, whut?" The boy looked around in confusion.

"Look!" Ynohtna pointed at the fountain. A bright projection of Goddess Palutena rose from the water as the Negatives gazed in awe.

"Goddess Palutena…" Asia stared.

 _"I had time to whip up this self-aware hologram to tell you a few things."_ Palutena said. _"Anthony, you are aware that you are a member of the Granite Family, who are said to be the leaders of the Four Earthbender Families. But did you know that, on many occasions throughout history, the Granites have always been taught by the other families?"_

"Um… no. Wait, so did my mom learn from the other families?"

 _"Well, she never had the chance to. But don't be fooled just because she made Logia. If you really want to become stronger, you will have to train under the other families. Your mom and your sister taught you what the Granites should know, and Tom of the Sovites was kind enough to be your teacher… You'll be happy to know that the other families have kids who are still learning their abilities as well. I think they're the ones you should train with."_ She gave a smile.

"So, shouldn't my sister train with them, too?" Anthony cocked a brow.

 _"Oh, let your sister mature a little more. She's still so young and developing."_

"My butt."

 _"Anthony, Ikuyim here is the daughter of the Latsyrc Family. They are part of the Negaverse's own Noble Earthbenders, for their ability to bend crystals and gems. They may not be infamous in their own history, but you can be the very first Granite to learn from them."_

"Hmm… Doesn't sound bad." Anthony figured. "So do I have to learn from the other Nega-Families?"

 _"Not unless you wanna perform dark arts."_ Palutena said sheepishly. _"Ikuyim should serve as a good teacher for now. But when you return to the Posiverse, search for Shelly Johnson, the daughter of the Quartzite Family. Her specialty is sandbending."_

"But what about the fourth family?" Sally asked.

 _"The Hornfels daughter still hasn't awakened herself, yet. But when she does, I'll tell you."_ The goddess winked. _"I'm about to fade off, so I wish you the best of luck. Be strong, Anthony, Fybi, and Harvey. Your future struggles are not far."_ And she was gone.

"…So the Hornfels is a girl. Fantastic." Anthony rolled his eyes.

"Why did she mention you, Harvey?" Aranea asked. "I know Fybi's a Light, and Anthony's the leader, but why you?"

"I dunno." Harvey swung his yo-yo. "Maybe she thinks I'm sweet!"

"Whatever." Anthony faced Ikuyim. "Okay, Crystal Girl, teach me how to crystalbend."

"Haha, I'm not a super-smart teacher, either!" Ikuyim blushed, scratching her head. "In fact, I really don't know any good training grounds for my style. Maybe we'll just do some warm-up exercises over there."

"Better than nothing." Anthony said as they adjourned a few yards away. "I just wanna shake off the skysickness."

Medusa watched them from afar, under the shade of a tree. "Thankfully, I happen to know the perfect training ground." She smirked.

 **Magnolia, Fiore**

Three hours passed since Wendy came to this world. She had been exploring Magnolia with Romeo, who offered to buy Wendy ice cream (since her money was worthless in this world). Now they were at the South Gate Park, sitting under a lone tree. Romeo told her how Fairy Tail recently competed in the Grand Magic Games, where their Wendy met Chelia, he mentioned how the founder of their guild was a spirit girl called Mavis… And Wendy told him about element bending, which was kind of like their own elemental magic, but it wasn't… Romeo could detect Wendy's confusion by her own explanation.

"The truth is, I'm still a student." Wendy said with a blush. "Not even my teachers know the difference between magic and bending."

"Some teachers!" Romeo chuckled.

He felt a tinge of delight when Wendy shared in the laugh. "I guess so! …" They both sat silent for a moment, gazing up at the pretty blue sky. "Hm… It's so weird, talking about different worlds and universes like this." Wendy mentioned. "We're acting like I just came from another country."

"I know, I almost forget." Romeo blushed. "You look and act just like our Wendy… If it weren't for your eyes, I wouldn't tell you apart."

"So, is your Wendy… really popular? Everyone else seems to like her."

"Well, I think everyone in Fairy Tail likes each other the same. It's kind of our policy. But our Wendy wasn't sure of that at first, she had a lot of trouble fitting in… But in a way, I guess she is popular."

"Hmm…" Wendy looked down, smiling at the humorous thought that she had so many friends in another universe. "I guess your Wendy… wouldn't want someone like me stealing her friends."

"Are you kidding? ? Two Wendys would be the greatest thing ever!"

"Huh?"

"Uh, n-nothing." Romeo flushed. "What I meant was… I'm sure our Wendy would be happy to welcome you. I don't know what it's like in your homeworld, but it's hard to find a better place than Fairy Tail."

"There you two are!" The two turned right to see Mirajane. "I had a feeling you lovebirds would be here."

"Ghhhh!" Romeo flushed, Wendy giggling at his reaction. "We're not lovebirds. …So, did you find anything, Mira-nee?"

"I'm sorry…" Mira frowned with regret. "We can't find any books that talk about 'Gravity Falls,' 'element bending,' 'Bill Cipher,' or any of that stuff Wendy described. You might have to stay with us for a while. Is that all right?"

Romeo turned to Wendy. The girl thought for a second, before giving a big smile. "Of course it's fine! As long as it isn't a huge burden for you."

"Not at all! Come on back to the guild and we'll give you something to eat if you're hungry."

At the guild hall, Wendy was given some slices of strawberry cake, orange gelatin with little blueberries inside, and juice to wash it down. Romeo's father, Macao and his friend, Wakaba thrilled Wendy with stories of their exciting adventures, and when they brought up what a catch they were with ladies, Mirajane smacked them out of anger, and Romeo shrunk in embarrassment. Cana, who was still drunk, found delight in picking Wendy up and feeling how light she was. She questioned if Wendy's breasts were smaller than their Wendy's, making Wendy blush.

Before they knew it, it was nighttime. Team Natsu still hadn't come back, yet, but since Wendy's room in the Fairy Hills would be left unoccupied, they found no harm in letting Wendy sleep there. But first, Levy and Mirajane invited her to a mini-sleepover to get to know her better. During her stories, they painted each other's nails and brushed their hair. They were sad how Wendy spent most of her life alone and homeless, but her ability to run fast was so cool, they wanted to hear details about her adventures. So Wendy told them every little jump, skid across water, and train-track-grinding that she remembered, making body motions to emphasize the excitement.

When she went to sleep in their Wendy's bed, with the wrinkles and texture left by its owner, it really felt like something she had lain on. It made her feel more like this was her original home.

 _This world really isn't so bad. Maybe… I could get used to it here. I guess I should help them look for a way to go back. Oh well… I'm not in a hurry._

* * *

 _If people really have parallels from Original Worlds,_

 _What if those people went to those worlds?_

 _Would they be treated the same as their Originals? Be welcomed by friends and family alike?_

 _I wonder, if a person were to travel to their Original World,_

 _Would they feel as though they always belonged in that world?_

 _Depending on how great their life is there, they might forget it isn't their real home._

 _Or perhaps it always has been their real home. What if our people and Originals are one in the same?_

 _That's what I told him I wanted to find out._

 _-Diary of Stanford Pines_

* * *

 **Pretty important chapter. Not only are we seeing some Original Worlds, but we got foreshadowing! So behold the worlds of _Bleach_ and _Fairy Tail_. Next time, an Augustus level. Farewell, kids. Here's your code.**

 **…**

 ** _HEV'OO NZGFIV ZG GSV ILLGH_**


	19. The Cupcake Core

**The Original Worlds Arc may only be a few more chapters. But don't worry, we'll see more of them. This comes after Chapter 33.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-19: The Cupcake Core_**

 **Oceana; Sweets Factory**

The Sweets Factory was the main candy distributor in all the ocean. The merman workers kept the salt out of their sweets, but when it came to applying sugar, they had Sugar Fairies for that. One of their products was fruit-flavored candy, made using real fruit collected from islands. The adorable little creatures had their own secluded break room, a tiny room with a tiny door. _Knock knock knock._ One of the fairies answered the door to a red-eyed fairy with blue hair and a blue tuxedo. "Hi, everybody!"

 _"HI, Sally the Salesman Fairy!"_ the fairies all chorused. "Did you enjoy Glitzville?"

"I sure as sugar did. And look! I brought back the Cupcake Core!" She pulled out a her-size cupcake colored sky-blue, with gold icing and a star-tipped wand, from her little pocket.

"Ooo, goody!" A fairy with a purple mermaid tail said. "Did anybody see?"

"Just a girl with blue hair and her kitty! Some bad men came, but I gave them the slip, and a boom! Tee hee! I'll take this back to its hiding place. But no telling when the bad men will come again."

"It's okay. We'll make them go slippy again!"

"That will look sweetielicious! Well, off to hide it. Be right backsy!" She picked up the big cupcake, waddling as she carried it off.

The mer-fairy's cellphone rang. "It's for me!" She took it out and answered. "Hello? Oh? …Princess Zeiry?"

 **Above the surface**

The sun was setting over the Atlantic. The _Ace Flyer_ flew over the part of the ocean where Augustus's digital map was marked. Stewie Griffin threw the blue cube that compressed the _Ace Swimmer_ 's matter onto the surface. The submarine miraculously puffed back into being, still in perfect condition. The captain parked the biplane next to the sub, taking Nel out of the trunk as the crewmen crossed to the sub. Stewie compressed the plane into a cube, which he stored in his Infi-Cube.

"Why is big rock floating?" Nel asked as they climbed into the submarine.

"Future caveman magic, Nelly." Augustus started a new lollipop.

"You know, we may not be taking the front entrance, but how are we going to enter Oceana without being discovered?" Stewie asked as he started up the controls.

"We're going to park a few miles away from the actual town. Then we're going to eat these Oxybursts and walk there. We'll sneak around and look for anyone who looks like a fairy."

"As foolproof as plans get." Stewie remarked. "Okay, all systems are go. Get ready to submerge."

The submarine sunk below the surface, headlights pointing the way forward. They saw the great bubble containing the oceanic city many fathoms below. The pirates parked a few miles away, within a small coral gorge. "Here you go, Nel." Augustus fed the cavechild the yellow oxygenated starburst, which she began to chew.

"Rock ish really squishy." Nel said through chews. "Ish rock become mud?"

"Sure it is, Little Gal." Augustus smiled, adored by her primitive behavior. "Everybody eat their Oxybursts? Then let's go."

They climbed out the submarine's bottom hatch, their lungs light thanks to the magic candy (Nel wouldn't get the complex science). Stewie, Rallo, and Maggie felt very heavy thanks to the Devil Fruits in their veins. Augustus had to lift the four kids as he jumped large crevices or skipped over mounts. Jumping around underwater was as easy as jumping around space. At the very edge of Oceana's barrier, the crew could hide under a short wall. Augustus peeped up, and Nel curiously did the same, clutching the top of the wall. "It looks like a back alley section. Let's go in." Augustus hoisted the babies up, and they all entered the bubble.

The crew snuck between two warehouse-like buildings, keeping eyes out for anyone. There were seahorse-drawn carts that octopus Fishmen were hauling boxes into. Stewie took out his binoculars and zoomed on the building across the yard. "Wait a second, this is the Sweets Factory!" he realized. "It's where Oceana produces all of its candy! The place that Big Mom ordered from."

"You know, Big Mom offers me a few crumbs from the candy she orders here… they're pretty good." Augustus said. "W- Hold on… do you think Aisling's friend works here?"

"Why would you think that?" Rallo asked.

"Well, if she and Zeira wanna find the Lost Candies, maybe the friend does, too. Maybe there's a Lost Candy in here or something."

"Aughsucks, look!" Nel pointed at the side of the warehouse they were beside. "It's cave drawing of you, but on square leafs and weird paint."

The Marzipans saw the wanted posters she indicated. Stewie Griffin - $80,000, Maggie Simpson - $56,000, Rallo Tubbs - $33,000, and Augustus – 700,000 Chocolate Dollars. "First, Nel, it's called paper, and it isn't paint, it's called gradient, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign. But holy cow, they upped my bounty by 200,000!"

"We can't go into that factory, they'll catch us red-handed!" Stewie stated.

"That's why it's called bein' stealthy! What, did you wanna send Nel inside and ask around? Not like she's wanted."

"It could work." Rallo said with sarcasm. "Mah mom catches cave kids scavenging around the trash all the time, they won't notice a thing."

"Nel good at stealing from Rocknut cave." Nel smiled silly. "Nel move like jaguar. Dumb cavemen no notice."

"Mw-mw, mw-mw, mw-mw." Maggie pointed.

"Those vents _do_ look small enough for Nel." Stewie said. "Perhaps if we climb into the Infi-Cube, Nel could carry us inside."

"You fit into tiny rock?" Nel looked at the dimensional cube in Stewie's hand.

"Just push this button to pull us out once you get inside."

"Can you do it, Nel?" Augustus asked the cavechild.

Nel smiled adorably. "Nel is glad to help Aughsucks. Nel is happy for Aughsucks for bringing her to Futur."

"Aughsucks—I mean, Augustus is happy to have you in Futur. 'kay, Stew, let's-"

"NO." Stewie shouted. "I told you to NOT call me that!"

"Just get in!" Augustus took the Infi-Cube, set it on the ground, and forced Stewie inside. He, Rallo, and Maggie joined after. Nel got on all fours and picked the cube up in her teeth like a dog. (Play "Wriggle Sweet Room" from _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_!)

 _Stage B-15: Sweets Factory_

 _Mission: Find info about Aisling's friend._

Nel scampered into the open factory yard, coming to twin rows of sacks of flour lying on the ground. The parallel sacks were used to prop another sack up from the ground. When a hammerhead Fishman was approaching, carrying two sacks in his arms, Nel crouched and hid under one of the propped-up sacks, otherwise he was sure to notice the cavegirl with his stretched-apart eyes. "Ehhh, where was I supposed to lay these?" the Fishman asked himself, mindlessly walking back-and-forth beside the rows. Nel had to keep crawling under the flour sacks, and when the Fishman walked away from the end of the row, Nel crawled out and kept running.

The cavegirl came to a row of crates, which were each spread apart by one crate-length. A barracuda Fishman was looking into a different crate, his back facing them—he whipped around at the sound of Nel's faint footsteps. The girl hid behind the first crate just in time, but with every footstep she made, he would whip back around. When the barracuda wasn't looking, Nel had to position herself and perform a sideways midair flip between each crate, so when she landed behind the next one, the Fishman wouldn't see her. After the last crate, Nel could make a dash for the fence gate around the factory's boundaries. Too bad there was a searchlight.

An angler Fishman stood on a watchtower and lit the area around the gate with his light. The fence itself had barbed wire on top of it (was that really safe for an underwater city?). However, there was a small, open box nearby that contained light-rainbow-colored, wriggling critters that were as big as footballs, and had several skinny stems that served as their limp legs. Nel couldn't read, but the box said _Wriggle Sweets_. Nel picked out one of the wiggling critters, throwing it into the searchlight. Nel gestured right, and the Wriggle Sweet followed her direction, luring the curious searchlight away. Nel rushed for the gate, using her short size to crawl under a gap at the bottom.

Once Nel was under the targeted air vent, she pushed the button on the Infi-Cube to shoot Maggie out. The non-speaking baby shot her grappling hook above the vent and pulled Nel up with her. Maggie used a screwdriver to unlatch the top of the vent, the two climbed inside, then Maggie pulled the vent back up, assuming it wouldn't fall off the rest of its bolts. The girls crawled through the duct, dropped down a vertical shaft, and smashed through a vent at the bottom, creating a loud noise that made Maggie wince. Thankfully, the room they were in was stacked with big crates and no immediate guards.

Maggie took the cube and squirted out the rest of their crew. "Nice job, Nel!" Augustus praised. "But we're going to have to keep it up. So let's be careful when breaking vents open, okay?"

"Mw-mw." Maggie rolled her eyes.

The pirates jumped up some short stacks of crates, but afterwards they had to sidle along a thin ledge left open by a taller stack. They could climb into an open spot between two stacks, leading inside the crate fort. They looked over a narrow path below, where a lazy Fishman was asleep on a pile of fallen candy. Above their perch, the top ends of some boxes were slightly open. The crew used their Licoropes to swing these boxes, and doing so caused them to open and spill more candy down below. The kids thankfully made it across before the snoozing Fishman would notice.

They jumped down on a floor below, and from here they could pass a doorway with a fruity-flavored waterfall. They coughed after passing the fall, while also savoring its taste. A conch-shell speaker rang as an announcement spoke: _"The Sweets Factory's new anti-Oxyburst magic fruitfalls are guaranteed to give any non-merman intruder a hard time! A big thanks to all staff for supporting this proposal."_

"Wait, so our Oxybursts won't work now? !" Augustus shouted. "NOT CONVENIENT!"

They were in a room where a huge gap separated their ledge with the opposite ledge. A 3-feet deep pool of water was down below, along with some floaties. There were gears on the other side, and they had view of the side of a turnable cog lodged within the wall. Augustus threw his Gobstopper at the gear, turned it, the ball bounced back, and the water rose slightly higher, but sunk back down quickly. Augustus kept throwing and hitting the gear until the water was at their level. The babies jumped across the floaties and made it without drowning. The four kids stacked atop each other so Rallo could keep spinning the cog, letting Augustus swim across the level water.

The next room was puffing colorful bubbles of water, made of fruity flavors and magically floating. Augustus jumped into a yellow, lemon-flavored one close by, swimming in it as though it were normal water. He stuck his head out and said, "Tastes yucky, but it's safe."

"Even if we could breathe in those things, we can't swim." Stewie stated. "Can you carry all of us across them?"

"It won't be easy to jump them… Fine, hang on." To reach the bubbles that were higher, Augustus had to swim toward the top of his bubble, perform a Torpedo Spin, and launch out of the bubble with the momentum, reaching the higher one. Augustus got to a cherry-flavored bubble, propelled to a smaller grape bubble, and then he could Torpedo Jump to a ledge with four bottles of Fizzy Lift. However, he noticed a much smaller cherry bubble with a Gold Wonka Bar above it. He couldn't build enough momentum to reach it from the grape bubble, so he had to start from the lemon bubble and perform consecutive, nonstop Torpedo Spins, to the large cherry, to the grape, and then his jump was strong enough to reach the small cherry and grab the candybar.

Augustus grabbed the four soda bottles on the ledge, dropped back to the Baby Trio plus Nel, and allowed them to drink. "Wuuuuhh…" Nel felt extremely light, turning upside-down once she was off her feet. "Nel feels like bubble…"

"Help her float, you three." Augustus ordered the trio. "And move quickly."

The captain made his way back up to the ledge, the babies floating after him as they entered a corridor with a watery chasm. Fruity bubbles floated in here, too, so Augustus used them to cross the room while the babies had to maneuver around them. There were cannons stationed on either wall (they looked like F.L.U.D.D. from _Mario Sunshine_ ), shooting huge globs of water through the fruit bubbles, so the pirates made sure to avoid them.

A waterfall blocked part of the passage, but Augustus noticed a bubble on his upper left against the wall, holding a switch. Augustus shot up to it, hit the switch, and dropped back down to the bigger bubble. The waterfall stopped, but the crew encountered another one. There was a gear in the right wall, which the airborne babies turned to make the waterfall open. Augustus could jump to a ledge, which had another gear to keep the waterfall open and let the babies join him.

The Fizzy Lift wore off just in time. They passed another doorway and were standing on a ledge overlooking a room with a long treadmill. Sugar Fairies dressed like fruit were dipping sugar onto sweets passing along the treadmill. "Hey, Sugar Fairies do work here!" Augustus exclaimed. "We'll ask one of them!"

"Are you daft, they'll alert the guards!" Stewie reminded. "There's two of them at that door!" He indicated the puffer Fishmen beside the door on the left wall. One was blue, one was dark-pink.

"Sigh, good point. Let's see if there's a way around them."

"Wait! I got an idea." Rallo extracted the boombox in his afro, cleared his throat, and spoke with a magnified voice: _"Attention all Sugar Fairies: Free coconut cookies and chocolate milk in the break room."_

 _"EEEEEEEEEEEE!"_ The adorable little fairies scampered happily in circles before piling into tiny doorways.

"Way to manipulate the predictable." Augustus pulled out his dry lollipop and dropped it.

"Maggie says there's Pop Gum over there." Stewie pointed across the room. "Perhaps I can control the ceiling cranes with this panel and lift Nel across."

"Now things are convenient."

Stewie approached the control panel on their right, with Augustus lifting the baby so he could reach. The cranes began to move under Stewie's control, so he lowered the closest one for Nel to grab onto. He moved the crane to the next one so Nel could swing to it, and repeated the process until the cavegirl landed on the opposite ledge. She grabbed a container of orange Pop Gum and started chewing. She then jumped down to the lower floor, behind the treadmill so the guards wouldn't see, and the others did the same as they crawled over to her.

Augustus grabbed Nel, peeped up over the treadmill, and when both puff-fish yawned at the same time, Augustus shot a gum into each of them so they would PUFF. With that, the pirates could pass the incapacitated guards and enter a room with a pool. There was a ledge on the other side with a bushel of Rock Candy. It was too high for Augustus to Torpedo Jump to, but he could push the dark-pink inflated puff-fish in and balance on her round body (his boots protected him from her spikes). He allowed the babies to cling onto him, throwing them up onto the foothold before jumping on himself.

They ate the Rock Candies and encased their selves in spheres, with Augustus sharing his with Nel. They rolled into the water and each held down four switches. This opened a gate, leading them into an underwater passage. The four had to maneuver around mines and force their rock spheres against four different, long buttons on the walls. They had to press these buttons simultaneously, as they would begin to stretch back out, giving them a limited time to get into the gate. This led them to a tunnel with pitfalls on either side, and pipes shooting currents that threatened to push them in. They pushed through the currents quickly, stayed on the path, and rolled above a surface.

They smashed their crystal spheres against a ledge, which the kids peeked over to see into a room with a giant apple rotating on a stand. There was a path carved into and around the apple (that part of skin was cut off), and Sugar Fairies were digging into it. The crew could casually walk around the apple with the fairies busy, and another box of Wriggle Sweets was found in a corner. Augustus picked one out, hid under the entrance ledge, and tossed the sweet several feet to the right in the room. The captain Armament punched the wall, making the Sugar Fairies whip to attention and notice the Wriggle Sweet.

They immediately climbed off the giant apple and swarmed in, making little _"AWWWWE"_ s and saying _"Silly Wriggle Sweet!"_ With the cute fairies all nuzzling the critter, the pirates put on their Corn-Clamber Boots and marched up the giant fruit (August carried Nel). At the top of the apple, they could see a giant banana swinging up and down, so when it was down, the pirates jumped to and latched their boots to it. They trekked to the top of the banana, and when it swung up, they could jump to a ledge.

At the end of this ledge was a large orange spinning aimlessly in place. They could only briefly spot the cut part, so Augustus went first in jumping and sticking to it. The orange would rotate by a floating, stable cut lemon platform, which the captain jumped to, and from there, he faced a giant floating bushel of purple grapes. A specific row of grapes were taking turns turning and exposing their green undersides before turning back. Augustus jumped to the first one when it came, stepped across the following ones quickly, but before jumping to the platform above his vision, he kept following the green grapes higher up the bushel to get a floating Wonka Bar.

He jumped to the foothold afterwards and set Nel down as they awaited the others—the Baby Trio merely launched their grappling hook to the ledge and hauled their selves over. "Platforming isn't normally our thing." Stewie remarked, earning an eye-roll from Augustus. The crew entered the next hallway, which had several high ledges with water pools before them. The first one was short and squirted water spouts, so when one was about to shoot, they jumped in and were pushed up to the next ledge.

The next pool was longer, but twin rows of spouts led to the ledge. Each set of spouts took turns, starting from their end and moving to the other end, but they were only up for half a second. They quickly jumped on one of the starting spouts and raced across the following ones as they came. The third pool's spouts were more spread-out and had water cannons shooting big bubbles. They kept their eyes out for spouts about to pop up, avoided the water cannons, and successfully reached the final ledge.

They were in a large, dim-lit room with several security devices protecting a capsule with a blue cupcake with golden icing. "Damn, and Ah thought mah mom liked to hide cupcakes from me." Rallo said. "They didn't have any good ceiling cabinets?"

"A cupcake? Maggie, gimme those." Augustus took the girl's binoculars for a better view of the sweet. "…Is that the Cupcake Core?"

"One of the Lost Candies?" Stewie asked.

"Yep. I may not know what it looks like, but the crazy security makes it a pretty likely guess. Alright, kiddies, it's time for some _Mission: Impossible_."

There were two rows of searchlights rotating endlessly in the same direction. There was an empty spot in each row, but they weren't next to each other. Thankfully, there was a Wriggle Sweet box close by. Augustus waited for the empty spot to show, then quickly threw the sweet into the light next to the spot. The entire row ceased rotating so that one light could shine on the sweet. When the second row's empty spot came by, the kids jumped through.

A glass wall blocked their way, but fruity water bubbles were coming out of cannons below, floating up quick and popping on the ceiling. Augustus went by himself, Torpedo Jumping his way across the bubbles, going a half circle around the center where the Cupcake Core was, then he was able to swim into an opening in the glass. He pressed a switch to open the glass, so the four kids could jump over the gap where the bubbles came from.

Another glass wall protected the Cupcake Core, and there was a short water spout risen up on one area. Two Amps (floating electric balls with faces) flew circles around the glass wall, electrifying the water spout when it went through. Augustus jumped onto the spout, and a stairway of them rose up and around the glass. Augustus hurriedly ran over the spouts, jumping the ones that would be electrified by the Amps, until he could get inside an opening in the glass. He pressed a switch to open the glass and let the babies inside. The only thing protecting the cupcake was an electric barrier with four generators.

"Time for Stone Fist to mark his name." Augustus turned his hands Armament and punched his palms. He punched and destroyed each generator as the electricity stopped. The captain marched up and took the cupcake with the star wand. (End song.)

"Mmmm… That rock look yummy." Nel asked with big sparkling eyes and a drooling mouth.

"Sorry, Nel, but I don't know if these regenerate like the Sugary Wonders." Augustus turned the cupcake and studied every inch. "But man, I bet this tastes like Heaven. Or greater."

Suddenly, the room turned red as alarms rang, and Sugar Fairies dressed as fruit hung onto ropes and surrounded them, aiming tiny bows and arrows. "Hands where we can see 'em!" one yelled in their squeaky tone. "You may think you're a bunch of sneaky rats, but rats don't sneak by us. Because we're teenier than them!"

"Man, those voices are starting to hurt my ears." Augustus remarked.

"When we shoot you with our cupid bows, you'll go gaga over each other. You'll be kissing and kissing, and we'll take pictures and post them on the Internet."

"And since that boy is a teen, ALL his friends will think he's a creepy perv who stalks little kids."

"Ruining someone's future is funilicious! Get ready to fire, fairies!" They all readied their arrows.

"Wait! Don't hurt them!" The Sugar Fairy with the purple mermaid tail flew in. "They're the people Princess Zeira called about!"

"You mean he's the pirate Augustus?" The fairies lowered their weapons and looked more closely.

"Yes! He's on all the pictures."

"Wait, Zeira told you about me?" Augustus asked.

"She did. She said you were searching for the Lost Candies. Our friend, Sally just brought the Cupcake Core back from Glitzville. Princess Zeira called us and said to keep it safe, because a smelly man called Augustus was searching for the Lost Candies!"

"Only smelly 'cause I change baby diapers all the time." Augustus subconsciously passed the cupcake to Nel while he fished around for a new lollipop. "But since we're here anyway, do you fairies know if the Lost Candies regenerate if they're eaten?"

"A berry good question." The mer-fairy said as Nel studied the delicious cake in her hand. "It's hard to say, really." Nel sniffed the cake, entranced by its scent. "Because the Lost Candies…" Nel opened her mouth for a big bite, "are indestructible!"

 _CHOMP!_ They whipped their attention at Nel. She had golden icing around her lips. She licked it off. The pirates and fairies merely stared at the innocent-looking cavechild. ". . . . Nel's tummy heavy…"

"Did you just swallow the Cupcake Core whole? ?" Augustus questioned.

"It big, but squishy rock. But now Nel feel sick. Nel like taste, though." She smiled.

"Boy, that's going to be a really big poop." The mer-fairy said.

"EEEEEEEWWWW!" the other fairies squealed.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot!" Augustus spoke up. "We came here to begin with because the Forest Princess, Aisling mentioned a friend of hers in this town. Would you know anything about that?"

"You must mean the Ocean Fairy Princess, Lapis." A fairy dressed like a banana said. "But she hasn't been seen in eight years. And it was all because of…"

 _"Hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hu…"_ The fairies shivered, afraid to speak of the culprit's name.

 _"The alarms went off in here!"_ They faced the entrance to the room as Fishmen began to storm in.

"Crap, it's the buzz!" Augustus exclaimed.

"THAT'S them!" the puffer Fishwoman yelled. "They used me as a platforming prop!"

"I don't think we'll be able to speak for you with these guys!" the mer-fairy yelled.

Augustus kicked Nel several feet backwards. "Nel's not on the wanted posters. After they take us, can you fairies guide her outside? Bring her behind the factory and tell her to get to the sub. Oh, and give her this after you're outside." He tossed them an Oxyburst.

"IT'S OVER, pirates!" The Fishmen grabbed the four humans and handcuffed them. "We're taking you to Samiya! You'll be lucky if the Ocean King treats you well. Nice work catching them, fairies. We'll throw you some extra gummy koalas." The guards began to escort the pirates outside, not noticing the cavegirl in the faint light.

 **Washington; KND Museum of Artifacts**

The museum had been closed for several days, due to Emily Garley's absence. Sector GF landed their S.C.A.M.P.E.R. (piloted by Candy Chiu) outside the treehouse entrance. As they stepped off the craft, Carla was quick to fly out of the pig, Waddles' range, for the pig had been trying to nuzzle her the whole journey. "Ha ha! See, Carla, I told you Waddles would open up to you." Mabel laughed.

"Well, could you please tell him I am closed to him?" Carla stated. "I do not associate with runts of the litter!"

"Speaking of closed, the museum still isn't open." Dipper observed. "How do we get in?"

"Closed, shmosed!" Grenda stomped forward, looking agro. "The ticket booth was closed at Sev'ral Timez' concert, but that didn't stop me from breaking in and catching the ticket guy making out with his magazine. Heeeey-YAH!" With a mighty punch, Grenda broke the sealed door open.

The museum was still lit by a little daylight. Dipper led them to the back room that he remembered the first time he was brought there. "I first read about the Master Emerald in a KND book and asked the curator if it was actually here. She brought me back here and… Voila!" After opening a secret trapdoor, they climbed down into a dark room, lit green by the enormous emerald.

The mystical light reflected in their awestruck eyes. Carla set foot on the floor and approached the beautiful gem. "Astounding… Where would one find a jewel like this?"

"Well, the Master Emerald is supposed to be the controller and the balancer between the Seven Chaos Emeralds," Dipper explained, "which exist in a sister-dimension called 'Mobius.' The Chaos Emeralds are powerful gems with Time-Space qualities, able to transcend space and time within these linked dimensions. That's why a Master Emerald exists in each dimension so that their unstable magnetic powers-"

"AAAAAH NERD STUFF!" Grenda shouted. "MAKE IT STOP!" She swung an arm, slamming Dipper against the wall.

The male Pines helped himself up and straightened his back. "What I don't understand is why the Author planned it for his portal. I mean, if Bill helped him make the portal before, then he should've known about it, which means he would've brought the emerald there before trying to activate. Did the Author make the decision without Bill's knowing? But if Bill said that it worked before, then this feels like a really huge change in programming."

"You're thinking too much, Dipper." Mabel said as she carefreely climbed on the emerald. "The Author probably wanted his portal to look prettier. If this thing wasn't so big, it would make a PERFECT wedding ring!"

"Which brings up the question, how do we carry it back to Gravity Falls?" Carla asked.

"Grenda has no problem carrying it." Mabel replied as her muscular friend lifting the giant emerald with one hand. "But it probably won't fit on the ship…"

"Wait! Mabel, didn't you bring the Crystal Flashlight?" Dipper asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Mabel jumped off the emerald and whipped out the flashlight. "We'll shrink it down and put it in our pocket." Grenda put the emerald down, and Mabel flashed the purple light on the shining green gem, shrinking it to the size of her hand. Mabel picked it up and placed it in her backpack. "Or a backpack."

"Hokay, let's get back to Gravity Falls and stick this in the machine." Dipper climbed first up the trapdoor's ladder. "But we'll still need to fix the rest of the portal. Maybe we can ask one of the KND scientists."

"I should be able to fix the machine with the right tools." Carla said as she hurriedly flew ahead. "Just hurry, I want to bring Wendy back as soon as possible!"

"Okay, just take it easy!" Dipper tried to jog after her.

"She talks, she flies, _and_ she's a technical wizard!" Candy said with admiration. "Where did Wendy shop for you, Carla?"

"The discount store of mutant pets for magic children…"

 **Oceana; Simaya's dungeon**

The Marzipan Pirates were locked in the palace dungeon after they were shown to the guards. It was dark, empty of other prisoners, and, not surprisingly, damp. "At least they air-bubbled our cell." Augustus said with a casual smile.

"Ugh, what the hell are we going to do now?" Stewie asked angrily. "They took all of our weapons, AND the other Oxybursts."

"Do you think they'll let us call our moms?" Rallo asked with worry. "But I don't remember my house's phone number! OH GOD, we're gonna get eat by fish-people!" He gripped his afro and shook.

"Chill out, you twerps. At least it can't get any worse than this." Augustus said.

That's when a merman appeared and opened their cell door. "You've got a new cellmate. Enjoy him." He tossed what seemed like a big yellow sponge with limbs into the cell before closing.

The sponge pushed his hands against the floor and propped himself up on his feet. "Not the most comfy place for a slumber party, is it?"

"Wait a sec…" Augustus gaped at the sponge, his lollipop falling out. "You're-"

"AAAAAHH OHMYGOD OHMYGOD!" Stewie shook ecstatically. "You're Spongebob Squarepants, oh I'm such a HUUUUUGE fan!"

"Hold on, Stewie, is that yo' dad? ?" Rallo questioned.

"No he's not, but I WISH he was! !"

"I just assumed he was because BOTH of you need your asses cancelled."

"Oh, HA HA, become an old comedian, why don't you."

"What the hell is he doing in here?" Augustus asked.

"I don't know." Spongebob shrugged with honest confusion. "I was just on a downtown jellyfishing run (excuse all the wrecked carriages outside) when these mermen started trying to arrest me for hurting their princess, or something…"

"Princess? Was she a Fairy Princess?"

"I dunno. Ooo, but if I was a woman, I would be the Princess of Krabby Patties…" He imagined himself in a flowing gown designed like his favorite sandwich, and had a castle made of ketchup and mustard bottles.

". . . . PWAH HAH HA, pwah hah ha!" Stewie started cracking up. "Hah hah ha! HAH ha! OH, that is quality comedy you don't get on Cartoon Network!" He wiped a tear. "Please, Augustus, let him join our crew!"

"You have a pirate crew?" Spongebob asked. "Oh, I'd love to, but I can't. There's someone I'm supposed to meet. He's upstairs in the palace with his friends, but I won't be able to leave with him if I'm a criminal."

Augustus turned his hands Armament and tried to tug the cell bars. "Man, these're tough. But I think I have a plan. Spongebob, do you remember that episode where you and Patrick were making faces or something?"

"Are you talking about the Season 8 episode 'Face Freeze', the Season 12 episode 'Face Flash' where we tried to get the silliest picture for Photo Day at Mrs. Puff's Boating School, or the Season 18 episode 'Face Frenzy' where everyone in Bikini Bottom tried to make funny faces and ended up-"

"JUST make a face! Any of them will do!"

"Okay! Just give me a sec to prep up." He turned around and started rearranging his face.

"GUUUAAARD!" Augustus called. "We have a medical emergency!"

The merman jailer swam over, looking suspicious. "What seems to be the ailment?"

"POOR DESIGN QUALITY!" Augustus grabbed Spongebob and faced him at the guard: Spongebob's eyes, nose, and mouth were inside-out, exposing the hideous and snot-oozing undersides.

"AAAAAHHH!" The merman screamed before passing out and floating up like a dead fish. His keys sunk down, allowing Augustus to grab them and open the cell. "I'll swim out and grab our things, you kids wait here with Sponge." He dropped the sponge on the floor and swam out of the air bubble.

Stewie, Rallo, and Maggie tried to hold their stomachs in, their faces green. "I don't remember any of those episodes! BLUEEEH!" Stewie puked.

Augustus swam out to the lobby and found a giant clam holding their Infi-Cube and Maggie's weapons. Augustus tugged the clam open with Armament hands and grabbed the items before quickly swimming back. He grabbed some Oxybursts from the Infi-Cube and gave one to each baby and himself. Stewie grabbed a remote control from the cube and pressed some buttons. "I've set the _Ace Swimmer_ to come to our location. We've got to get to the barrier!"

"No time to lose!" Augustus grabbed the babies and Spongebob in his arms. "Let's go, Sponge!"

As he struggled to swim through the lobby, Spongebob noticed the clam Augustus tore open minutes ago. "That reminds me of the time I fell in love with a Krabby Patty and killed a bunch of baby clams to protect it!"

"Your show teaches kids to kill birds for food? ?" Rallo questioned.

"Mw-mw-mw." Maggie noted.

"I think he was trying to avoid saying that." Stewie replied.

 _"Prisoner escape!"_ More bands of mermen were swimming out once the pirates made it to the palace foyer. "They're taking the Yellow Devil!"

"Oh, like the episode where I dressed up as a monster and fell into a church while I was jellyfishing!" Spongebob remembered as Augustus kept carrying him.

"Not even gonna question that!" the captain remarked.

Stewie grabbed a jetpack and a missile launcher to fly overhead and blast at incoming guards, and Maggie shot bullets at floating swordfish. As they were escaping the palace, Augustus looked back and saw the group of human kids, and one redheaded adult, rushing out to observe the situation, along with the Ocean King himself. "Uh-oh. 'Guess we played around too long!"

"WAIT! That boy is the kid I was talking about!" Spongebob pointed.

"If you're still wanted, it won't work to just throw you to him!"

"There's the submarine!" Stewie pointed.

"Right on time!"

Rallo spun around to shoot soundwaves at the pursuing guards. Once they were at the barrier, Augustus grabbed onto the babies, jumped out, and quickly swam to the submarine, climbing in the still-open bottom hatch. Nel had thankfully made it back beforehand, picking her nose at the time of their arrival. Stewie jumped at the controls and turned off the autopilot. "As soon as we're back in the sky, they shouldn't be able to-" The submarine quaked just then.

"What was that? !" Rallo yelped.

A face made of water and bubbles appeared at the ship's front window, glaring venomously at the escapees. _"Just where are you going, little worms?"_ Eva Jackson hissed.

"SEA MONSTEEERRR!" Rallo flailed his arms.

"No, Logia waterbender." Augustus spat his lolli-stick out and punched his palms. "Not a problem for me, anymore!" He dove out of the submarine and swam to the woman's projected water-body. With his fists hardened, he dealt quick jabs at the liquid body, blocking Eva's chi as she shrunk back into her human form. _"A-a-a-ah!"_ She was forced to hold her breath underwater.

"Kids, don't drink and swim!" Augustus winked at the woman before going back in his sub.

The mermen were still giving chase, but as soon as the pirates reached the surface, Stewie threw the dehydrated _Ace Flyer_ into the sea so its cube would grow back into the biplane. They jumped in the plane, Stewie compressed the _Swimmer_ into a cube and caught it, and Augustus quickly set the plane for liftoff. "Love to stay, Oceana, but we have places to be!" Augustus cheered.

"Ooo, going on pirate adventures is gonna be so much fun!" Spongebob said excitedly. "I've been ready for this longer than I can remember! Check out this pirate tattoo I have on my right buttock!" He dropped his pants-

"UUUGH!" The crewmates shut their eyes (except Nel, who looked curious as always).

"PLEASE get rid of him!" Stewie clutched his captain's pants and cried pleadingly. "He's not as funny as he used to be, now he's just annoying and I want him gone, I don't want him in our crew anymore, pleeeeaaase!"

"Alright, alright! …Hey, there's those people again!" Augustus pointed at a yacht in the sea ahead. "They catch up fast. Lemme just write a note." Augustus grabbed a small paper and pencil from a compartment at his seat, wrote _You twerps owe me one_ , drew the Marzipan Jolly Roger, and posted it on Spongebob's forehead. "Stewie, now!"

Stewie shot the annoying sponge with his dehydrator, then Augustus threw the compressed cube down to the yacht. The mermen were hopelessly pursuing their plane from afar, not aware that Spongebob was safe on his friends' yacht.

"Sigh… That was exhausting." Augustus sighed as they flew under the night. "Nel, do you still have the cupcake?"

"Mm-hm…" Nel rubbed her sore belly.

"You know, why is it called the Cupcake Core, anyway?" Stewie asked.

"The same reason for the Sugar Fuel?" Augustus cocked a brow. "Heck, even the Rock Nut looks like the fastener type of 'nut.' …Wow, I can't believe I didn't notice these things."

"The Lost Candies are named after terms that would apply to… a machine of some sort." Stewie thought aloud.

"Well, except the Sun Cream. Speaking of which, if the Lost Candies are indestructible, how did Veruca's Devil Fruit powers still affect the Sun Cream?"

"Indestructible doesn't mean they can't be supernaturally transformed in some way." Stewie argued.

"I dunno… something doesn't add up about that whole thing. Well, at least now we have two Lost Candies. Unless we count Zeira's Sugar Fuel, that means we have half of them. And I remember where Luviro said we could find another one: the Gear Heart."

"That's named after a machine part, too!" Stewie noticed.

"Exactly. The names can't just be a coincidence. And by the time we find them all, we may as well know. And as for the Gear Heart, get ready to go to the place where the gays are all up in your face: Kamabaka Kingdom."

"Oh, Stewie, your hometown!" Rallo joked.

"Oh, shut up."

 **Fiore Dimension; bathhouse**

The next morning, Levy, Mirajane, and a purple-haired girl named Laki brought Wendy to a bathhouse. The girls were naked, sitting in a tub that was carved in the ground as the steaming water eased their souls and melted away their woes. "Um… Excuse my rudeness, but does this world have bathing suits?" Wendy asked, feeling a little awkward about being naked in a tub with three teenagers.

"Yeah, but they're not used for bathing." Levy replied. "Lighten up, Wendy!"

"I don't think I'm old enough for this!" Wendy flushed, covering her chest.

"Wendy, it's fine." Mirajane said with a friendly smile. "We do this with our Wendy all the time. There's nothing shameful about it because we're all members of the same guild."

"Even so, this feels a little too… personal."

"Maybe, but it's what we do." Laki lied back and folded her hands behind her head. "You might as well get used to it."

Wendy sighed, relaxing herself and pushing aside the awkward feeling. These girls allowed her to bathe with them like it was a common thing. She embraced in the tub's heavenly feel.

 _Should I be concerned? Should I be desperate to go back to my world? …Because it's hard to feel that way. I like it here._

According to the guildmates, Chelia stayed at a local inn, so that she could return to the guild and keep looking for ways to send Wendy back home. None of them appeared too concerned. It was like they enjoyed Wendy's company.

 _They're so nice to me. What did I have in the other world, anyway? Sure, I had a few friends… but all I did was cause trouble. The Government keeps trying to arrest me. My friends would be happy I found a better home._

"Hey, Wendy, what're those papers on your waist, again?" Mirajane asked.

"Oh, you mean my Chi Stabilizers? They keep my Air Chi from going crazy. Without them, the wind would blow around too much outside. 'Course, I've been learning to control it, but just in case…"

 _Maybe I'm getting my hopes up. I could make trouble for these people, too. Then they wouldn't want me…_

"Maybe we could research a way to get rid of that curse." Levy said. "It must be a pain to have to deal with."

Wendy looked down in shame. "It is… You guys wouldn't wanna be around me for 10 seconds."

"Oh, I'm sure we could manage." Mira replied. "A little wind is nothing compared to what we deal with."

"And we would help you with it, too." Levy promised. "Just don't hesitate to ask!"

"Mmm…" Wendy smiled at the gesture. "You're just saying that."

"Boy, you're more modest than our Wendy." Laki remarked. "Quit whining and just accept our help, already. That's what I always tell her."

"You never told her that!" Levy argued.

"Well, I should."

"Hm hm hm!" Wendy laughed.

 _Still… I wonder if I asked them… would they mind having two Wendys? I bet I would make great friends with the other one._

 **Fairy Tail**

After their bath, the girls returned to the guild, where Mirajane cooked some ramen for Wendy and brought a glass of juice. Chelia greeted them, but was sad to report she had no luck in finding a way back for Wendy. Wendy thanked her for her effort and decided to share her ramen with Chelia. Then for the next hour, they forgot about the subject of Wendy's return home altogether, as Gajeel entertained them with stories of his own adventures. This led to Chelia sharing some stories, and Levy and Mira began bragging about how fast this Wendy claimed to be.

This resulted in Wendy and Chelia having a footrace around Magnolia. Wendy only used a fraction of her whole speed to give her friend a chance, but by the end of the race, Chelia was clearly more exhausted. The pink-haired airbender (or should we say Wind Mage) decided to challenge Wendy to arm-wrestling, to prove she was still stronger, and she beat Wendy in three quick matches. Wendy cast the Arms spell on her dominant hand, so Chelia had a harder time with besting her. Their arms locked in place for three minutes before Wendy's was able to pin Chelia's.

To reward her for this lucky break, Chelia agreed to tie Wendy's hair in two long pigtails, in the same fashion that their Wendy sometimes had her hair. The tails were fixed with red bows, then Chelia brushed them until they were perfectly smooth and straight. "There!" Chelia said after finishing. "You look as pretty as our Wendy!"

"You know what would look super cute?" Laki asked. "Putting tiny stars on the tips of her ears so they look like Christmas trees!"

"She does look like an elf, so why not?" Cana followed.

"How about it, Wendy, can we? ?" Laki excitedly requested.

"Stop it, you two are embarrassing her." Levy said.

Wendy blushed at the idea of her pointed ears being decorated for Christmas. …She remembered last Christmas, when she had a dream of meeting her older self, living with a family and having friends. The more time she spent with these people, the more she felt like she was dreaming. She was afraid that, when she woke up, she would be back in her own world… but she wasn't. She was still here, with the happy, carefree people that loved her. They thought Wendy was a delight. If she asked them, they would let her stay here. And no one would miss her in the other world.

…Well, Dr. Facilier would wonder what's keeping her. The first man to give Wendy a bed to sleep on, taught her magic, made her feel like life was worth living. And Carla, her talking winged cat whose very existence was a mystery, she would never know what type of creature she is, never know that there were others of her kind in this dimension, an "Exceed." The Chelia in her homeworld was probably captured by the Government, hoping Wendy was at least safe, and Lee Andrew might be hoping to hear from her again, and…

Wendy clasped the lap of her dress. Her lips quivered, and tears quickly built up in her eyes. "Sniff, sniff!" She got up and ran outside.

"Wendy!" Mira yelled as everyone looked in surprise.

Wendy fell to her knees and cried. No matter how much she wiped the tears, they wouldn't stop. Wendy's hands and arms became soaked. The Fairy Tail members came out to see her. "Sheesh, it was just an idea!" Laki shouted. "We weren't gonna make ya get the little stars!"

Wendy sniffled. "I'm sorry! All of you are really nice, and I'm really thankful for your hospitality. Nobody's treated me so nice before, it's like the home I never had. I really want to stay, but…but I can't! This isn't my real home! If I don't get back to my own world, Carla and Dr. Facilier will be worried about me, and I'll just feel so bad if I…" She choked out more sobs.

"Wendy, calm down!" Mirajane knelt down in front of her and tilted Wendy's head up. "There's nothing wrong about missing your home. We promise we'll keep trying to find a way back. Just stay positive."

She sniffled, and the tears started to subside. "The truth is, I…I really like this world. I actually liked it _better_ than my home, I didn't wanna leave. What if Carla and the others are going crazy trying to bring me back? I'm a terrible person."

"I'm sure they'll be thankful you aren't hurt, at least. For now, we'll just work even harder to find a way back."

"But if it makes you feel better…" Levy began with a playful smile, "We're sorry for being too likable!"

"Sniff… Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Wendy couldn't help but find that hilarious.

"The second you get home, make sure your friends throw you a party." Mirajane stated. "But if they don't, we might just come to your world and throw one ourselves."

 **Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

Dr. Facilier was boredly looking at his crystal ball. Wendy and Carla certainly have been gone a long time, and he was unable to find them. Perhaps it was a result of Gravity Falls' obscure magnetic field. He wished he could tell if they were in danger.

A ringing sound came from his fireplace. Somebody was trying to teleport to him from the Floo Network. However, the doctor had a spell in place, requiring him to approve the person's entry, otherwise the warp would fail. He approached the fireplace, and was delighted to see the magical projection showed Wendy's vibrant face. She must have kept Floo Powder with her just in case. "Come on in, Girl!" He clicked the icon.

Emerald flames emerged from the fireplace. …Gideon Gleeful was the one who came out, wearing a Wendy mask. He took it off and smiled wryly at the man. "Expecting somebody else?"

He threw Facilier over the table with his psychicbending. The doctor scrambled to his feet as the Child Psychic approached. "My, look at this beautiful shop full of illegal magic stuff. The Ministry of Magic would _love_ to see this. BOYS, come awn in!"

Four magic Aurors marched out of the Floo Network and stood beside Gideon. Facilier's heart was racing, the doctor unable to configure how any of this happened, what would happen now, or even more-so, what happened to Wendy. "Dr. Harvey Facilier," the Head Auror spoke, "for possession and use of a Devil's Wand, and harboring a wanted criminal, you are hereby under arrest. You will await trial in Azkaban."

 **Negaverse; Latsyrc Household**

"Friends, I'm happy to welcome you to my home!" Ikuyim danced into her room and allowed Positive Sector W inside. Ikuyim had several plants, shelves aligned with pretty gems of various colors and shapes, and a sleeping mat on the floor.

Fybi sniffed the pleasant air of the room. "'Tis the most fragrant scent in this malodorous world. Thine choice in décor is praiseworthy."

"It isn't bad, I guess." Anthony said, enjoying the natural air. "So like, what's up with those people at the volcano, again?"

"Oh, that's just my sister and her friend, Yllehs." The group went over by the window to view the volcanic field beyond Ikuyim's back yard. "Ikus gets a lot of temper tantrums and turns everything into lava, so we need Yllehs to fight her and cool her down.

Lavabender Ikus Latsyrc and icebender Yllehs Nosnhoj were in another climactic battle. Yllehs surfed on an Ice Road, creating a wide curve around her opponent while Ikus sent streams of lava to break parts of the ice. Yllehs suddenly lunged at Ikus, hands lit with ice as she attempted to slam them against her, but Ikus raised a lava wall, which Yllehs turned to stone when her ice hands touched. Yllehs was knocked back when Ikus kicked a piece of the wall at her, then the lavabender surfed forth on a lava wave. Yllehs skied away, raising a trail of tall icicles, but Ikus surfed between each one and melted them in her pursuit.

"Wow, and I thought Michelle was annoying." Anthony remarked. "How do you get any sleep?"

"Knowing that tomorrow is another adventure!" Ikuyim happily danced over to her shelf of purple gems. "I loved to collect treasure as a hobby, but when I discovered my earthbending, I began to practice with them." She waved her hands and made an oval gem and triangle gem float. "I had a natural talent for it. You try!" She passed the oval gem to Anthony.

The boy set the gem on the ground and held his hand above it. He channeled his power and struggled to lift it. …The gem shook and lifted slightly, but it plopped back down when Anthony's grip broke. "Sigh, it's really heavy."

"Didn't that Minish say no earthbender ever lifted a diamond?" Aranea asked.

"That's not a diamond, it's an amethyst, silly!" Ikuyim laughed. "But you're right, diamonds are impossible to bend. They're like, super strong!"

"More than you know." A woman's voice said from the doorway.

Ikuyim gasped, recognizing her immediately. Medusa walked in and said, "Thannypoo, knock the extras out."

The green snake on her shoulder flashed his eyes at each of the Sector W members. They passed out on the floor, with Fybi dropping like a bird from the air. Ikuyim clenched her teeth in anger. "Whaddid you DO to them? !"

"Easy, I only put them to sleep!" Thanatos yelled defensively. "Not the everlasting sleep."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your lesson, but the Darknesses won't find themselves." Medusa said. "I'll need you for this one, Ikuyim."

"Need her for what?" Anthony asked groggily. The three looked in surprise as the boy was pushing himself up from the floor.

"He withstood my Sleep Stare?" Thanatos asked. "How is that possible?"

"When you train as long as I have… heh… you decide when to sleep." The boy smirked.

"Hmmm…" Medusa scratched her chin. "Impressive feat of will, but… you're not really relevant to my plan."

"Ikky-yim, who is this lady?"

"She's Medusa. And-; hn-hn, that's not my name, silly!" Ikuyim switched from a serious glare to a sunny smile.

"Wait… Medusa?" Anthony cocked a brow. "Palutena's sister?"

 _"HISSSS!"_ Medusa bared her fangs, scaring the boy. "Don't you mention her name in my presence!"

"She told us you were searching for the Darknesses. So, are ya?"

"I am." Medusa still glared. "That's what I was about to ask Ikuyim to do. You're going to awaken one of the most important Darknesses."

Ikuyim glanced at Anthony. "I want him to come with me." She stated firmly.

"What? Why?"

"So that I can give him some on-the-field training. I don't think you would've asked me unless this had something to do with my power. Now, who is this Darkness?"

"How very clever." Medusa smiled lightly. "All right. Your little beaver can come with you and die before one of the mightiest women the universe has ever known. She is a real beauty of a gem… A conqueress by the name of Yellow Diamond."

* * *

 **These Side Stories chapters are actually getting to be pretty long. It'll be annoying when I have to divide them on deviantART. Well, Chapter 20's next, so let's dedicate it to our well-known Lady Darkness.**


	20. Diamond and Pearl

**Wanted to write a little more of the stage, but screw it, I had a hard day at work and need to do some homework.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-20: Diamond and Pearl_**

 **Island south of Indian Ocean**

Medusa brought Ikuyim and Anthony to the Posiverse, where she then warped the two to the designated island via Dark Portal. "I still wanna know what's going on!" Anthony demanded.

"Just hold your horses." Ikuyim told him. "Medusa promised to help us find the Thirteen Darknesses. Hopefully, she's taking us to a clue."

Medusa led them to the underground chamber where Stewie's time machine lay. "I set the coordinates to take you to a planetoid called Crystallia. Exactly 6,557 years ago. There, you should find the one called Yellow Diamond."

"And she's one of the Darknesses?" Anthony cocked a brow.

"Yes, and a very special one at that." Medusa smirked. "She comes from the First Dimension. The very place that, when the Twenty Keys are united, will be open, and the New World can be constructed. You two must serve as her guides, and be on your best behavior. Return with the Return Pad when you're finished. And remember, you are not to tell her of your mission."

"You don't tell me what to do!" Anthony shouted.

"I can turn you to stone right now!" Medusa shot her face into his, her reptilian eyes narrowed. "Now get in the machine!"

With a gulp, Anthony stepped into the machine with Ikuyim, the door shutting behind them. They pressed the activate, and the blinding blue light zapped them across the timeline. "But I thought Anthony wasn't included in Yellow Diamond's original story." Thanatos said. "Only Ikuyim matched the description. Won't this affect things?"

"We'll watch from here and see what happens. Perhaps there was a mistake…"

 **First Dimension; White Diamond's Throne**

"White Diamond…" Yellow Diamond marched into the massive, white, glittering chamber.

 _"Yes, Yellow Diamond?"_ the towering, beautiful empress asked softly.

"I wanted to apologize for my earlier insubordinance." Yellow bowed her head. "I was only… concerned for our wellbeing."

 _"It is understandable. All is forgiven…"_

"I've just been… so angry." Yellow hugged herself lightly, speaking with congested anger. "Our Ether falling into their hands… They're abusing our people! They act as though we're merely objects, even though WE'RE the ones who wish to SAVE this crumbling dimension!"

 _"Yellow Diamond… please be calm."_

"My Diamond, please fuse with me!" She looked up at her empress with pleading eyes.

 _"Excuse me?"_

"I need… solace." The smaller diamond closed her eyes. "We haven't fused in so long… I would like to feel your warm embrace again. I just want a reminder… we will always have each other…"

 _"Topaz…"_ White Diamond slowly reached down.

"My Diamond…"

White Diamond gently picked her up. The empress remembered the last time they fused. Although she didn't express it, she enjoyed it very much. Her subordinate was so tiny… so adorable… yet, her love and passion for her empire was vast… and White Diamond loved her fierce and strict aura.

White Diamond held Topaz to her chest, stood up from her throne, and twirled. Yellow Diamond shone and sunk into her empress's chest. White Diamond glowed, and their body transformed into a beautiful entity comprised of both their souls.

 _Yellow Diamond… this is wonderful. I had forgotten… how it felt to be with you._

 _It is wonderful, My Diamond. And I will always keep you with me. I'm sorry… to have to…_

 _Topaz… what are you doing?_

 _I will not let the trolls reap our land any longer. I want to destroy them, but I can only do so with your power. I knew you would not agree to this… so I must…_

 _Topaz… Stop!_

 _My Diamond… forgive me…_

 **Crystallia**

Amethysts, jaspers, and pearls lay scattered around the landscape. The planet's surface composed of crystals and gems of diverse colors, and their beauty was complimented by the stars of space. A single pearl of yellow tint shone as it rose into the air. It formed a body of a yellow, slender humanoid, whose yellow hair was up in a point, she wore a one-piece, had long leggings, and yellow slippers, and the pearl was on her chest.

"AAAAAH!" she yelped. "Whuh-?" Pearl looked around frantically. The hundreds of colorless gems filled her with dread. "YEEK! Oh my. Oh dear!" She zipped around frenetically. "M-My Diamond! Where are you? My Diamond?" She went far away. "YELLOW DIAMOND!" She zipped up to the camera.

But then she heard a faint shimmering sound. She turned and saw the yellow diamond float into the air, shining as her body formed. Her hair that looked like Pac-Man from the side, sharp yellow eyes, long neck, huge shoulder blades, and dark high-heel boots… Yellow Diamond had reformed. "My Diamond!" Pearl happily skittered over to the woman who was slouched on her knees.

"Augh… Pearl…" Yellow Diamond stretched to full height. "What… happened…"

"Those dirty trolls attacked us with their machine! All of a sudden, I was poofed, and all of the other Gems-…" Pearl paused and looked at her empress with shock.

"What? Pearl, what is the matter? !" Diamond asked sternly.

Pearl skimmed her up and down, standing stiff and her eyes wide. "M-My Diamond… you're so… small."

Diamond's eyes widened. She looked down and only then realized that Pearl was a few inches shorter than her. "WHAT HAPPENED? !"

"I-I-It- It must've been the after-effects of the machine. Heheh, traveling dimensions certainly absorbs a lot of energy from a Gem, hahahahahaha."

"THIS IS **UNACCEPTABLE**! !"

Her thundering voice scared Pearl into slouching like a crab and scuttling backwards. "You're still taller than me! M-My Diamond, I'm certain this doesn't change how powerful you are."

"Sigh, it doesn't even matter! Did we really end up in the dimension the trolls were constructing?" Yellow Diamond looked around.

"Apparently…" Pearl looked left-and-right quickly.

"Ugh… We need to find a way back home. Without all the Diamonds, the Ether will be impossible to control. Pearl, start collecting all these gems and store them in your pearl."

"Yes, My Diamond." Pearl started picking up each and every fallen gem, stuffing them inside her chest gem, which glowed and let them into a subspace. "Sigh, the idea of all these Gems confined in my chest… it's like a breeding ground. Hu-hu-hu-hu."

Yellow Diamond heard a buzzing sound and turned. A blue light flashed into existence and dropped two characters on the ground: a girl with white hair, a dark-gray shirt, and orange skirt, and a boy with buckteeth and large feet.

As Ikuyim and Anthony helped their selves off the solid, shiny ground, the pair of high-heel boots approached them. They stared up at the imposing yellow woman with the diamond on her chest. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"Uh… I'm Ikuyim Latsyrc, and this boy is Anthony." The Negative girl answered.

"Who are you?" Anthony asked rudely.

"You'll show your respect, Antling!" Pearl stated, skittering up from behind her empress. "You lay before Co-Empress of the Gem Empire, Yellow Diamond!"

Ikuyim stared at her with admiration. "You're Yellow Diamond!" She stood up, smiling brightly. "You're so beautiful! And that gem is so pretty!"

"She looks like a bottle of pee." Anthony stated, getting up.

Yellow Diamond bent down, grabbed him by the ankle, and picked him up upside-down. "H-H-Hey-!" The empress grabbed two of his toes and shook them, turning the hanging boy and studying every angle.

"Wait… you're an organic being." Diamond said. "Like the trolls or the angels."

"What, you mean the Nimbi?"

"What exactly is your purpose here? Do you hail from our home dimension?"

"We're just explorers!" Ikuyim shouted assuredly. "We came here to explore this crystalline planetoid! I am also trying to teach that boy earthbending."

"Earthbending?"

"The ability to control stones and soil, of course!" Ikuyim smiled. "My specialty is crystal and gembending!" She stomped the gem ground and forced a chunk into the air, flying it around before setting it back. With a spin and jump, Ikuyim forced red crystals out of the ground around her.

"SHE can control GEMS? !" Pearl fearfully clutched her master's arms. "My Diamond, she can't be trusted!"

"Hold on…" Still holding Anthony, Yellow Diamond bent down and felt the ground. "I…I'm not feeling any Ether in this ground. But then…" She looked at Ikuyim, "How do you use such power?"

"I connect with the chi in the ground using my feet!" Ikuyim pointed at her bare feet.

"Chi? Is that the same as Ether?"

"I've never heard of Ether, so I'm sorry, I don't know."

Diamond stood up fully and said, "But if you have control over this land, you could be of use to us. You will escort me to the source of this chi you speak of so that we can harness its power!"

"Hah hah, you must be misunderstanding! Chi is-"

"YES, we'll escort you, please lemme down!" Anthony yelled with blood rushing to his head.

"I promise we'll help you the best we can!" Ikuyim bowed.

"Very well. You are hereby my temporary escort." Diamond acknowledged. "And as for you…" She looked at Anthony. "You can be Pearl's pet." She dropped the boy in Pearl's arms.

The slender servant's eyes stared with the seven-year-old's brown eyes as she held him like a pet. "Uhh… You someone's mom?" he asked.

"SILENCE!" Pearl dropped him and pinned a foot on the boy. "You are my pet, Fleshy! Sit before Master!"

"I'm not doing this-"

Yellow Diamond drew an electric sword from her chest, flashing it threateningly. Anthony sat before Pearl like an obedient, frightened doggy. Pearl smirked with pride and malice. "Ha ha, hokay, but I still reserve some time to teach him bending." Ikuyim laughed. "Let's begin exploring!" (Play the "Underground" Theme from _Yoshi's Island_!)

 _Stage B-16: Crystallia_

 _Mission: Find the Pyrameglyph._

Ikuyim led them along a path out of the field. The path was enclosed between some steep mounds and snaked around some large, dark-green emerald crystals. There were green Bald Clefts hiding behind the emeralds, rock monsters camouflaged with the environment. They charged at Ikuyim when she walked by, but Anthony was quick to stomp them. The path ahead was blocked by huge bright emeralds. "Anthony, try to move this aside." Ikuyim instructed.

"HUUUUUUU!" Anthony poured all his strength into pushing the unbendable crystals.

"I'm guessing this one is defective." Yellow Diamond said.

"No wonder it's so small! N-No offense, My Diamond." Pearl stuttered.

"Anthony, gembending is about seeing the inner beauty of the earth." Ikuyim told him. "When you look at that emerald, does it make you think of anything you're fond of?"

Anthony took a breath and placed a hand on the crystal, staring at it. In its beauty, he saw Fybi. Her emerald eyes matched the crystal. Fybi smiled at him, and Anthony smiled back. He used a gentler touch in moving the rock aside. His hand pushed through and cracked it. Ikuyim decided to break the rest of them. "Good on your first lesson!"

"So instead of knowing how to function since birth, he must be taught verbally." Diamond observed.

"He really is a pet." Pearl said.

They came to a vast canyon with a deep, spiky crystal bottom. The group stepped onto a flat-topped, blue gem pillar leaning against the cliff. Ikuyim felt the entire pillar through Seismic Sense, seeing its loose base. She willed the pillar into tilting across the chasm, doing so gently so her passengers could stay balanced. Orange space jellyfish (Jelliens) were floating around the air where the platform tilted, so Pearl drew a two-sided electric spear, swinging it at the jellies in a graceful fashion. When they were close to a green gem pillar, they jumped over to it, then Ikuyim used her bending to shift it toward a pinkish-red pillar. Pearl cut away more Jelliens, but when they landed on the pink pillar, it wouldn't tilt in either direction. However, Ikuyim used her bending to make it sink into the ground, then gave a thrust up, making the gem shoot up and spring them across the chasm. They landed bumpily on a convenient soil ground.

The four entered a cave that was very dark, except for the sparkling light-red crystals. It made the explorers appear as red figures in the darkness. The earthbenders could see around the cave with Seismic Sense, but Ikuyim confirmed there were Eyeballus Rocks lurking about, eyeball creatures made of rock. Ikuyim lifted a ruby crystal to light the way, and when its glow shone on the Eyeballuses, the creatures shirked. However, other ones were spitting small rocks at them from the darkness, and when any of them came for Yellow Diamond, Pearl sliced them away.

Ikuyim stopped at a dark, bottomless chasm, her steps causing a few pebbles to crumble and plummet. There was a big, ruby door of some sort across the chasm and on a cliff. The chasm was also on their right, but there was a path leading to the door on the wall across the pit. "If only we could get over there." Ikuyim said. "This ground is pretty loose, so I can't make my own bridge from here."

"I might be able to reach there by going up this wall." Pearl indicated the opposite wall they were close to.

"Could you take Anthony with you? Then he could make a bridge from up there."

"Just hurry up, Pearl." Yellow Diamond stated impatiently.

"Yes, My Diamond. Now, hold still, my pet." Pearl lifted Anthony in her right arm and twirled her spear in her left. She spun it fast as a helicopter, sticking it in the wall as she sawed up it. She then sawed across the ceiling, body hanging over the chasm, the Eyeballus still shooting at them, until they could set their feet on the path above the parallel wall. They walked around to the ruby door, and Anthony stomped the cliff to stretch a stone bridge down to Ikuyim and Diamond.

After the two regrouped with them, Ikuyim led Anthony to the ruby door. "When I think of rubies, I think of anger." Ikuyim told him with her positive smile. "'Course, I can't think of anything that makes me angry! What about you, Anthony?"

Anthony put his hand on the ruby. The only red thing he could think of was Michelle's hair. And boy, did his sister make him angry. Laughing at him so cockily, because she was so much better at earthbending. Anthony did to this ruby what he could never legally do to his sister: he punched it and shattered it to pieces. "Forget punching-bag dolls, therapists should get THESE in their office!"

The door led outside, where rows of Crystal Clefts charged at them. Anthony couldn't stomp on the spiked Clefts, so Ikuyim stomped crystals up from the blue ground to knock them away. They followed a snaky path within a narrow trench before it led them to a chasm with lava. A long, blue crystal hung over the lava from the right wall. Anthony punched the wall and made the crystal fall into the lava. It floated as the current turned it to face the other side. Ikuyim jumped down first, ran across the buoyant crystal, and jumped to grab a thin crystal dangling from the cliff.

Since Anthony wasn't nimble like she was, Pearl picked him up, ran across the crystal, and wrapped her legs around the hanging crystal to climb it. Yellow Diamond simply made a high jump onto the left wall, went across, and dropped down to the others. The group proceeded on the path, and they stopped at a dead end, but the wall stretched over another chasm of lava. "This way, Pearl." Yellow Diamond simply leapt high above the wall and walked across. Pearl followed her with her buzzsaw spear.

"That's okay. We can just do like this!" Ikuyim slammed the wall, sticking some green crystals out of the wall over the chasm.

"Why can't you just spring us up there?"

"Because this is more fun, silly!"

The crystals threatened to fall under their weight, so they had to quickly and carefully jump down to the next one. The crystals sloped down like stairs, but when they landed on the lowest crystal, Ikuyim used her bending to make it shake up and down, building enough momentum to fling them onto the next high crystal. No other crystals were available, so Ikuyim smacked the wall to make some more. The next one was too far away, so Ikuyim wiggled their current crystal left and right until they could launch forward. The following crystal required the same mechanics, but since it was at a lower level, Ikuyim softened the shake so they could make it. The next one was further and higher, so Ikuyim wiggled this one diagonally to fling in that direction.

Ikuyim smacked the wall again and emerged more crystals that formed a "W". The kids ran down the first slope, up the next, each of the crystals immediately fell out the wall after stepping, down the third slope, up the fourth, then they made it to where Pearl and Diamond waited. The group approached a sapphire door this time. "Whenever I look at sapphires, I always find myself cooling down." Ikuyim said.

"Well, most Sapphires possess cyrokinetic abilities." Pearl informed. "Though very rare ones possess telekines-"

Anthony punched the door open. "I just pretend its Vweeb and I'm stompin' him. Man, gembending is easy."

"Heheh… Lucky for you, these are easy gems to move."

The door led to an enclosed area with a left road and right road. The right had an impassable river of lava, while the left road was above a short cliff. Ikuyim propelled herself and Anthony up there. They followed a jagged, narrow path that sloped upward, knocking out some Crystal Clefts on the way. They saw a large, round boulder with little crystals sticking out, perched on a tall cliff. "That can get us across!" Anthony said hopefully, climbing the last bit of steps before the cliff.

"Anthony, don't-" Ikuyim tried to say.

The boy punched the wall, making the boulder loosen from its perch and threaten to crush them. "Yuh-oh." The earthbenders hurried back down the path as the spiked stone chased them. They leaped off the ledge they started from and watched the boulder roll into the lava river. The kids shrugged at each other, figuring this could work—they realized that Pearl and Yellow Diamond were missing. "We're over here!" Pearl called from across the river.

"You're taking much too long. Hurry up!" Diamond shouted.

"Heeeeeere, Anty Anty!" Pearl patted her knees, calling Anthony like a dog.

"I'm getting tired of that lady." Anthony said as he and Ikuyim got on the boulder and used it to roll across the lava, withstanding the pain on their scorching feet. They were quick to jump off on the opposite side and cool their feet down. The narrow trench path led them out into an open crystal canyon, with the humans walking several paces ahead of the Gems. (End song.)

Ikuyim saw a piece of amethyst on the ground and made it bounce to her hand with a stomp. "Try to crush this, Anthony."

She gave the gem to Anthony, who began squeezing it in attempt to shatter. "Ow… How's this one work?"

"They're just a stronger variety. Most normal earthbenders have a hard time with it. Some people believe that gems grow from the Heart of the World, too, the same as Nature Crystals. Their pure properties reflect the beauty of the Heart. And because the Heart is the embodiment of Mother Earth's heart, it's very strong and unbendable."

The amethyst cracked in Anthony's hand. "Hn… Not to me!" He smirked. "… _Ow_!" He dropped the gem and shook his hand from the pain for how hard he squeezed.

"How much longer until we reach the source of 'chi'?" Yellow Diamond asked.

"Oh yeah…" Anthony remembered that was the reason they were escorting them. "Where are we supposed to lead them?" he whispered to Ikuyim.

"Uh, I dunno… I'm gonna run ahead!" Ikuyim skipped forward eagerly.

"I need a rest." Anthony sat down to rub his aching soles.

"Organic wastes of space." Yellow Diamond scoffed. "Pearl, do a scan of the area. These fleshies probably wouldn't know Ether if they were sniffing it."

Pearl skipped her way up a nearby crystal mount, perching her feet perfectly on its tip. Her pearl lit up and scanned the vast crystalline landscape. "Sigh, I'm not detecting one trace of Ether."

"This can't be possible." Yellow Diamond picked up the cracked amethyst Anthony dropped. "How can there be so many lifeless gems in one setting?"

"What is Ether, anyway?" Anthony asked.

Pearl slid down and responded, "Well, Pet, Ether is the energy that dwells in the Gem Homeworld. It is a powerful force that can give life to anything and manipulate reality. For a long time, races from other planets have been stealing our Ether to achieve their own ends." She made a scowl. "As if our dimension wasn't distorted enough."

"The four Diamonds of our world had the power to stabilize the Ether." Yellow Diamond said. "But without me or White Diamond there, it will run rampant. The Gem Empire's ultimate goal was to save our universe from its chaos… but thanks to those trolls, all of them will be doomed!" Her fist trembled.

"My Diamond, please calm down!" Pearl said with her hands held up. "I promise we will find a way back home."

 _"Guuuuuuuys!"_ Ikuyim's voice echoed from the distance.

The three walked a few feet down the path and saw the girl waving her arms from the top of a hill over a trench. Many shiny blue, giant crystals stood up from the hill's surface. "I found this weird pyramid! There's some writing on it!"

Pearl held Anthony and leapt across the gap, as did Diamond, setting foot on the hill. They approached the gray stone pyramid with an eye on its tip, and Anthony felt the writing was familiar. "Hey, this looks like that Gibberish Cube we found at Birka. Fybi was able to read it."

Ikuyim went up and rubbed the pyramid. "I don't really recognize this type of stone. It's like… otherworldly."

"Well, we are on another world."

The ground trembled, startling the four to attention. Ikuyim bent down and touched the ground. "Uh-oh. I thought I felt something weird about this hill. It's not a regular hill… it's alive!"

"Alive? !" Anthony shouted.

"WHOOOOOOOOAAAAA!" The hill turned sideways and caused the four to fall to the ground below. From here, they watched as the colossus stomped away on stubby feet. The beast that was 20 stories high ran several miles away and turned, showing its ugly, big-chinned mug. _"GREEEEEEHHHH!"_

"It's a Cleft!" Ikuyim exclaimed. "I've never seen one that big before!"

"It's like one of our Gem Monsters!" Pearl exclaimed. "Except… I'm still not detecting any Ether from it."

"It must be mad at us for climbing on it. We should go-"

"Wait!" Anthony yelled. "We have to get up to that pyramid again!"

"That pyramid is of no interest to me!" Yellow Diamond stated.

"Yes it is!" the boy argued with her. "Don't ask me how I know, but I think you're able to read what's on it."

"That text was unfamiliar. I would not-"

"JUST trust me!"

"Steel your teeth, Pet!" Pearl smacked him. "Show your respect to Her Highness-"

"WATCH OUT!" Ikuyim slid the two away with earthbending when the Cleft sent a storm of sharp crystals at them. Yellow Diamond turned her body into solid diamond, the crystals unable to shatter her while they broke their selves. Ikuyim hurried beside Anthony as they both got in fighting poses. "Anthony, if you're right about what you say, then we need to take this monster down. This'll be your first true test as a gembender."

"It's not the only time I fought an oversized rock. This'll be a walk in the park!" (Play Blizzeta's Theme from _Zelda: Twilight Princess_!)

 _Boss fight: King Cleft_

The colossus unleashed an earsplitting roar and charged at the two earthbenders, but Ikuyim stomped the ground and sank herself and Anthony into a hole. The planetoid trembled ferociously under the beast's contact with the cliff, and Ikuyim hurriedly burrowed a tunnel underneath the Cleft. They resurfaced behind the mountain as Ikuyim hurled some large gem shards at the crystals on the Cleft's rear. Roaring with anger and slight pain, the Cleft stomped its feet as it about-faced. The mountain performed a tremendous leap, its big-chinned mouth hanging open as he faced directly down, wishing to devour the morsels. Anthony and Ikuyim bolted forward, out of the monster's range, and the earthbenders flew into the air when his body crashed against the ground.

His big stubby feet wiggled as he seemed to be stuck in this position. There was a bright reddish-pink, circular crystal patch in the center of his underside. "Gross." Anthony said. "Why do all these rock monsters have to have a weak spot on their-"

"Anthony, if I shoot you up there, can you break through it?" Ikuyim asked. Yellow Diamond and Pearl came up to them from behind.

"Why can't we make Pearl do it?"

"I wasn't bred for this type of task! !" Pearl flinched in disgust. "It's on you, Pet!"

"Now or never, Anthony!" Ikuyim stomped and sent Anthony flying at the weak spot with a rock-jab. The boy charged his fist and punched through the gem patch with great timing. Inside the Cleft's turned-over inside, the boy clutched a wall and started punching it, creating dents and cracks with his bending. He smashed every fragile crystal he could on the inside, and the interior suddenly rolled as Anthony felt himself land on the right-side-up floor. Overwhelmed by the beast's thundering roar, the King Cleft spat him out of its mouth.

The colossus ran miles away, running in circles around the distant plain as crystal missiles flew at its opponents. Ikuyim quickly knocked away the crystals coming at them, but the Cleft was too far away to attempt to chase on foot. "Do you guys have any idea to catch him?" Ikuyim asked.

"Pearl, help them." Yellow Diamond ordered. "I just want to get this over with."

"Yes, My Diamond." Pearl drew out her two-sided energy spear, ripping the polearm in half as both sides contracted to just the spears. She flipped gracefully and stuck them on the bottom of her shoes. Pearl picked Anthony up and began to skate across the gem ground with great haste using the energy blades on her feet. She swiftly dodged the crystals and was quickly closing in on the beast. King Cleft roared, charged at his pursuers, but then flipped to sit and slide on his bottom. Pearl rapidly spun around and moved towards the left, evading the monster by inches.

Anthony was dizzy and sickened by the spin. Pearl didn't understand his moans, but told him to cease as she skated toward the now-standing monster and got beside its foot. She reformed her spear, twirled it like a baton, and used it to saw up the foot and across the Cleft's underside. She threw Anthony up into the hole, where he resumed stomping and destroying the weak crystals. He was blown out by the beast's great bellow, hitting the ground haphazardly as Ikuyim and Yellow Diamond made it to where he was.

Ikuyim grabbed Anthony's arm and ran around the King Cleft. The beast narrowed his agro eyes on Yellow Diamond, and desired nothing more than to crush her into gravel. Yellow Diamond tried to summon the power taken from White Diamond, tried to conjure floating diamonds to shield her from the creature's foot. However, her full powers had yet to recover in this miniaturized form. "MY DIAMOND!" Pearl jumped in the way, spinning her spear so fast, it projected an energy barrier to keep the Cleft's foot aloft. "Please get away! I won't let this monster crush you!"

"Nothing can crush a Diamond! And with the strength of two Diamonds, are you really questioning my-"

"I, said, MOVE! !" Pearl jabbed her foot so fast, she kicked her empress away, but her pose faltered and resulted in her being smashed by the Cleft.

 _"UUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOHHHH!"_ The Cleft howled with anger over these hard-to-kill enemies. Ikuyim and Anthony ran underneath as the former sprung up a pillar to lift them into the opening. "You know, it would be really funny if this guy's chin fell off from all his yelling!" Ikuyim said with a smirk.

"I'm ready when you are!" Anthony returned the look.

Both earthbenders hurried to the beast's mouth, standing their ground against his deafening roar. Anthony and Ikuyim locked hands. "Let's channel both of our chi into one amazing stomp!" Ikuyim yelled.

"On three!"

 _"ONE."_ Ikuyim channeled her power to her right foot, and Anthony his left. _"TWO."_ They raised their feet, which felt heavy and longed to be taken by the gravity. _"THREE!"_ With a powerful, concurrent stomp, the King Cleft's chin snapped off the monster's body. The monster let out a weak, defeated roar, wobbling around before collapsing and sliding on the ground. (End song.)

The kids jumped out of the open mouth and high-fived. They hurried around the monster's fallen body and saw Yellow Diamond standing by a crater. They rushed over to her side. The Diamond's expression was one of horror and anger. Pearl was lain in the crater, her limbs bent and smashed, and the pearl on her chest cracked. …The cracks were growing.

"Pearl… Why…" Yellow Diamond tried to restrain her anger. "I told you it couldn't have crushed me… Why didn't you LISTEN? !"

Pearl's body fizzed like static. She had a big smile as she spoke weakly. "Because you know… as much about this world as I do. And that's… not very much." Fizzed. "My Diamond… we were so lost and confused… all of the other Gems have lost their power. I wouldn't have lasted… if it wasn't for you… My Diamond…"

"I did not order you to sacrifice!" Diamond shouted. "I still needed you… to carry the Gems and find a way back to Homeworld! Without Peridot here, you were the only capable one I had!"

"Heh heh… A capable Pearl… not many of us get to hear that." Her gem cracked more, and her body fizzed harder. "It was truly an honor… to serve you, Yellow Diamond. I know a Gem as flawless as you… will find a way back home… and save our universe." Another fizz. "Good-bye… My Diamond." The gem shattered, and Pearl's body disappeared.

 _When Yellow Diamond was going for a walk outside her palace, something caught her eye: a Pearl was stylishly swinging a two-sided spear behind a large, jagged gem. Curious, the empress approached her. "What are you doing?"_

 _"YAH!" Pearl flinched, facing the empress with one leg bent and up in the air, while the other foot was on its tippy-toes. "My Diamond! I-I was just…"_

 _"Playing with your spear."_

 _"Hee hee…" Pearl grinned nervously. "I heard that… the soldiers were preparing for another battle. I thought, if I were able to fight… I could dwindle the enemy's progress?"_

 _Yellow Diamond raised a brow. "If that's what you thought… then I'll put you on the front lines."_

 _Even though the Pearl was so skinny and flimsy next to the Quartzes, she was fast and made quick work of the angels. After that battle was done, she came to bow before her Diamond. "That was impressive… Hmm… very well: from this point, you will be my personal Pearl. That means I expect more from you than the other Pearls. You must move faster, be more obedient, and be overall better than the other Pearls. Am I clear?"_

 _"Yes-My-Diamond!" She saluted quickly._

Almost instantly, every gem that Pearl had stored into her Infi-Storage materialized around the field. It was a disheveled mess of lesser pearls, jaspers, and amethysts. "…Well, that sucks." Anthony remarked.

Yellow Diamond picked up the broken remains of her Pearl. She crushed the shards in her hands, still angry. "Disobedient… And I thought she was the perfect Pearl. She followed me everywhere… she did everything I told her without question… I know it's not uncommon for a Pearl to fail… but WHY do I feel so aggravated? !"

"Because she meant a lot to you." Anthony said. "You loved her… for always being loyal to you."

"Hmph… What would a mere rodent know?" She glared at him.

Anthony remembered himself as a tiny, riding on Fybi, the person he trusted the most. "A rodent that knows a lot…" he replied, seeing no point in explaining to her.

"Now's our chance to get back up to that stone." Ikuyim pointed. "If Anthony's right, you can read it, Yellow Diamond."

The angered empress decided to comply, allowing Ikuyim to lift them to the top of the King Cleft via a rising pillar. Yellow Diamond approached the pyramid with foreign writing. It was true… Yellow Diamond was able to read it now.

 _One who seeks perfection and order will find their selves crumbling. Submit to the chaos, and understand there is nothing you can do._

A dark aura appeared around the pyramid. It flew into Yellow Diamond's self-named gem. She winced a little, but as it absorbed completely inside, she felt odd.

 **Yellow Diamond awakened as a _DARKNESS_. Only 10 more to go.**

"…" Yellow Diamond stared at her hands. "Was this… the source of your 'chi'?"

"N-No, no!" Ikuyim stuttered. "I didn't get a chance to explain! Chi is a force that exists everywhere and inside all beings. But the gods give people called benders the power to control certain parts, like earth. L-Like, for instance…"

"I don't think now is the time for a lecture." Anthony noted.

"Sigh… well, now I need a new servant." Diamond said. "Are you two going to help pick up these gems or not?"

The kids looked at the hundreds of gems scattered down below. They exchanged quick glances. "Return-Pad!" Anthony yelped. Ikuyim put the device down as they stood on it and warped back to the present.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING? !" Diamond yelled hopelessly. "GET BACK HERE! _HEEEEEEEY…"_

Yellow Diamond was stranded on Crystallia for two Earth years. She was all alone on this planetoid with no way to harness power for her gems. The longer she waited, the more she knew that Homeworld must be crumbling. She despaired in not being there, to retain order. And yet, the message on that pyramid still haunts her…

After ages of waiting, she heard a sound above her. Yellow Diamond looked up and saw a tremendous ship of dark-magenta color and unknown origin. It was accompanied by a fleet of Irkens, who sought to make a settlement on this rock. The Tallest Dirk saw the tall, yellow woman from afar… that was one long neck.

 _With the Irkens' aid, Yellow Diamond finally found a great source of Ether called Planet Avalar. However, the natives of this universe seem to call it "magic." Regardless, Yellow Diamond was able to revive her Gem soldiers, and in exchange, they would serve the Irken Empire, a race that sought rule and order across the universe. To this day, she didn't understand why that white-haired girl and her pet rodent appeared on that lonely rock…_

 **Present time**

"Oh, now I remember." Medusa spoke after watching the monitor. "When Yellow Diamond told us her story, she mentioned a white-haired girl that controlled the lifeless gems… and her pet rodent! Hmm, so much for firsthand sources."

Anthony and Ikuyim materialized out of the time machine. "So, when she read that pyramid… she awakened herself?" Ikuyim asked.

"The same thing happened to Fybi after she read from a Gibberish Cube." Anthony replied. "But I still don't get what those things do."

"The Poneglyphs awaken the True Light within the chosen ones." Medusa responded. "While the Pyrameglyphs awaken the True Darkness. Then when all twenty have come together, the final battle between me and Palutena will commence."

"So the Lights are going to fight the Darknesses, too?"

"Yes… Too bad we have the advantage." Medusa smirked. "Anyway, congratulations to you brats. I'll take you back to Ikuyim's house." The goddess opened a dark portal, leading the children inside.

 _"Medusa, no one said anything about 'True Light' or 'Darkness.'"_ Thanatos whispered. _"You're just making that up!"_

"Be quiet! I still need to act like I know what I'm doing, if just a little bit!"

 **Latsyrc Household**

After Medusa dropped them in front of Ikuyim's house, the two went back upstairs to her bedroom. "Anthony, Ikuyim!" Sally exclaimed. "Where have you two been? !"

"Judging by their description of a purple woman with a snake, I assume it was Medusa?" Ynohtna inquired.

"Ugh, you? What're you doing here?" Anthony asked rudely.

"My sister and I were in the bathroom when somebody fell through the mirror!" Ynohtna blushed. "Wanna guess who?"

"ANTHONY, THERE you are!" Michelle McKenzie stomped around Harvey and Aranea. "I've been worried sick about you, and so has Mom! But Dad's just bein' lazy like usual. You better tell me where you went!"

"Michelle, how the HECK did you get in the Negaverse?"

"I climbed on the sink to catch a bug, but then the mirror turned all gooey, and I fell in."

"Then we had a little mishap," Ynohtna followed, "where she thought I was her brother, and Ellehcim was her long-lost twin."

"It's nice to meet you, Michelle!" Ikuyim waved. "My name is Ikuyim. I've been teaching Anthony gembending!"

"Gembending?"

"Yeah, it's a really tough form of earthbending." Anthony poked his sister's nose. "Too tough for you, even. Since gems are more pure and clean than regular rocks, it'll take ya forever to-"

Michelle casually made two amethysts from Ikuyim's shelf float around the air using her fingers. "Tee hee hee! It's easy!"

Anthony's mouth drooped open, and he looked less than intelligent. "Uuuuuh…"

"Wow, if you can do that," Aranea said, "maybe you can bend those diamonds-"

"FORGETIT! Let'sgohome!" Anthony grabbed Michelle and dragged her out of the house, not wishing to discover if she can bend the unbendable gem.

 **Gravity Falls; Portal Chamber**

Mabel set the Master Emerald on the ground and resized it with the Crystal Flashlight's blue ray. Grenda then used her super strength to set the massive emerald into the machine like the journal had drawn. Carla looked over the blueprints and began to alter the other settings on the portal. It took a little under an hour before she finished double-checking. "Sigh… It appears to be done."

"If this works…" Dipper approached the activation lever, "we may be able to bring MaKayla and Wendy home. Still, I'm a little worried… What exactly did Bill and Gideon wanna do with this? Carla, even you said it was harmful to the Time-Space-"

"We'll shut the machine down afterwards." Carla shouted. "Just bring Wendy back!"

"Okay! Well… here goes." Dipper jumped up and pulled the lever.

The portal spiraled to life, and the symbols around it lit up. A small arrow rotated on the circle, aiming at a symbol of a flame, then at one of a fairy with a tail. _"Detecting coordinates of previous users. Initiating callback system."_

"Callback system?" Carla repeated.

"Maybe it's trying to bring Wendy and Kayla back!" Dipper said hopefully.

"Is it? ! Oh, Child, please be safe…"

 **Dimension "Karakura"**

Night had fallen over Karakura Town, but the street and building lights kept the city vibrant. Rukia showed MaKayla to an outdoor ice rink, where the human girl was carefreely sliding around on some rented shoes. "You should join me, Rukia!" Kayla told her with a hand held out. The spirit swordswoman was sitting on the fence, watching her skate in circles.

"I can't." Rukia blushed. "I'd have to run back and get my Gigai, anyway…"

"You're a spirit, stop making excuses."

"Sigh… All right."

Rukia hopped off the fence and took Kayla's hand as the latter guided her across the ice. "Nnnh!" Rukia stumbled a little. "These sandals aren't really good for this!"

"You're an icebender and you don't know how to skate." Kayla looked in disbelief. "Honestly, Rukia."

"I told you it isn't icebending!"

"Yeah, but you're not so much of a spirit, either. Way too heavy. Just lighten up and do what I do." MaKayla took both of Rukia's hands, let her head hang back, and her hair breeze as the two girls spun in place. The other skaters who were unable to see Rukia looked confused by MaKayla's pose. Still, she managed pretty well, not falling in that position.

MaKayla pulled her in skating around the rink some more. "To be honest, I thought you would be a little more worried." Rukia said. "We don't know if the portal will call you back to your world. As a matter of fact, what if it appears in the same place it dropped you?"

"I haven't sensed its presence. But then again, it could be because of the huge amount of spiritual energy I feel in this city's air. But I know I'll get back home." Kayla winked back at her. "I have good intuition."

"…Hm." Rukia gave a light smile. "It's weird… You act like the two of us are already familiar with each other, so you expect me to take your word for it."

"Well, it was only a brief meeting. But your team saved Miyuki, so I have to be thankful about that!" She grinned.

Rukia stayed silent, figuring asking more questions would lead to more confusion. The girls skated peacefully until MaKayla spoke again. "Still… the pyramid that Urahara had drawn… There's definitely a reason Bill Cipher wanted to build that portal. That pyramid must be the reason… I wonder if the other Original Worlds have them."

"MaKayla?" Rukia said with concern.

"Uh, sorry." Kayla blushed. "Just thinking out loud."

"Come on, Karin, it'll be fun!" They looked at the rink's entrance. A girl with short light-brown hair was happily tugging her black-haired sister's arm.

"Yuzu, I told you I only like my feet on ground that won't slip me!"

"Hey, it's Karin from Sector JP!" Kayla beamed.

"You know her, too?"

"Y… Oh, they're different ones." Her expression sunk.

"They're actually friends of mine, too." Rukia smiled. "Their brother is the Soul Society's hero. Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Ichigo?"

"Is he also from your world?"

"…" Kayla thought for a second. Where had she heard that name before? "Wait… his name was on the-"

"Mommy, look at that!" A little girl pointed at the sky.

Everyone looked up as a result. There was a growing white light in the sky. "AAAAAH!" The light became a white beam that struck the ground outside the rink.

"KARIN, WHAT'S HAPPENING? !" Yuzu cried.

"I don't know, but we're leaving!" Karin grabbed her sister and bolted from the rink. _Thank God, an excuse not to skate!_

"What's this energy I feel? !" Rukia shouted.

"I…I recognize it." Kayla said, holding her forehead. "This is it! The Multiverse Portal! It must be calling me back!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Well, I guess this is good-bye for now." Kayla jogged up to the powerful beam. "It was great meeting you again, Rukia!"

"W-Wait! Maybe I should go with you and make sure you get there safe."

"I appreciate the gesture, but it might just create problems if we couldn't send you back. But hey, I'll tell the other you you said 'hi'!" Kayla shot her one last smile. "Farewell, Rukia!" With that, she ran and jumped into the beam. Her body became light, and she was slurped up into the sky. The beam faded away after a few minutes, leaving a huge burned mark on the ground. The witnesses were murmuring in confusion.

"Hmm… I have a feeling there _is_ more to this conundrum than we believe." Rukia said with suspicion.

 **Fiore**

"Guys, look at that!" Levy shouted, pointing at the sky.

A white beam struck the ground before the guild hall, quaking the earth. The members of Fairy Tail piled out to see it. "Is it an Etherion? !" Chelia shouted.

"No, it's something else!" Mirajane yelled.

Wendy gazed at the vortex-like beam. She recognized its appearance. "Guys… I think this is the portal."

"The portal?" Romeo asked. "You mean… it'll take you home?"

"…I don't know." Wendy slowly stepped forward. "I wonder… is it safe?"

"I-If you don't think so, then maybe you shouldn't!"

"But this could be her only chance!" Panther Lily shouted. "And if this portal stays active, it could harm the Space-Time Continuum."

"But-"

"He's right." Wendy stated firmly. "I have to try… If Carla is on the other side, I need to go in now. But first…" She turned around to face the Fairies. "I'm really grateful to you guys for letting me stay with you. I don't know how, but… it feels like I've known you guys forever. This world is the happiest place I've ever seen, and I would love to stay here, but…"

"We understand, Wendy." Levy giggled, since they've been through this already. "That world is your home, and you have friends to get back to."

"It's not just that." Wendy smirked with determination. "I'm gonna tell my friends all about you. I want my world to be as happy as this one, I want people to be as loving and caring as you guys! I wanna try to set the example… and maybe when it's good enough, I'll welcome you guys to visit me!"

"I know you can do it, Wendy!" Chelia raised a fist. "Just do your very best! And always remember: Love is the most powerful magic!"

"Please be safe going home, Wendy!" Mirajane cheered. "And send us a letter sometime!"

"Hey, Wendy…" Romeo scratched his arm, blushing. "If you see the other me again… Tell him about me?" He made a nervous grin.

"Hmhm, sure! And you should talk to your Wendy."

"Hehe… I will."

"Good-bye, everyone!" Wendy gave one final wave. "I'll never forget Fairy Tail!" She turned around and jumped into the vortex. Her body turned into light, and within minutes, the beam vanished.

 **Gravity Falls**

The portal was furiously spiraling, the earth trembled under its power, then suddenly, two people spat out and hit the wall on the opposite side. "UUH!" Wendy and MaKayla fell on the ground.

"There they are!" Dipper exclaimed.

"WENDY!" Carla flew over and landed beside her owner.

"Ow… Carla!" She looked up at her kitten, holding her sore head.

"I was really worried about you, Child! What was it like in there?"

"It was… Oh, I'll tell you about it later. Let's go back to Dr. Facilier!"

"I agree. I'm sure he can survive without his false merman heads. That man has sent you on your last masochistic endeavor!"

"Oh, he didn't know this would happen. But when we get back, let's have a party!"

"Why ever would we?"

"Just because. Let's go!"

Carla showed Wendy the secret exit, and once they were back in the forest, the air mage and kitten began their exciting run home.

 **Cleveland, Virginia**

The two made it back by late afternoon, Wendy excitedly turning city blocks en route to… They came to a halt and stared confusedly at the crowds of people gathered around and facing the voodoo emporium's direction. "Carla, what's going on?"

The kitten flew over the crowd to search for a plausible answer. She gasped: a team of wizards in brown coats were ganging up on Dr. Facilier, casting spells that the witch-doctor countered, while his shadow was flying around and biting them in the necks. "AAAH!" The man was grabbed by the neck in Gideon's psychic. The shadow tried to attack the child, but the Aurors cast Lumos Solem to weaken the shadow, and Facilier was hit with stun spells.

"What's happening? !" Wendy shoved through the crowds, struck with horror when the Aurors were trying to shove her mentor into a black carriage.

"Er- Wendy!" Facilier grunted, unable to repress the stun effects. "Run away, they'll get you… AAH!" They threw him inside.

"My, my, if it isn't Wendy Marvell." Gideon approached the taller girl with his wry smile. "The famous Sky Dragon. Escaped from the portal, did you? You caused quite the stir up in Glitzville. But this doctor ain't the ONLY one with Friends on the Other Side! Bill Cipher showed us what you were doing! Ever since your encounter with Master Churchill, he's been watching you from a piece of paper that latched onto your clothes. Your little harborer is going to Azkaban and YOU'RE coming with!"

"A-Azkaban?" Wendy stuttered.

"Them dementors are gonna find your widdle souls _soooooo_ delicious!" Gideon sang with an adorable expression.

"Child, let's get out of here!" Carla tugged Wendy's arm and tried to pull her as she flew. "We can't let you get captured! Wendy! …?"

Wendy stared at the carriage where her mentor was trapped. Shadow Facilier was trying to creep out, but the Aurors shocked him with spells and forced him back. The others were glaring at Wendy. "…Grrrrr!" She gritted her teeth in anger.

"CHILD!" Carla cried when she charged forward, whipping her wand out.

"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE MY TEACHER! Sky Dragon ROOOOAAAAAR!" She unleashed a cyclone that blew Gideon and the Aurors down. "Too many of my friends got HURT because of me!" she yelled as she cast attack spells at the men. "I WON'T let that happen again! I WON'T lose the man who gave me a HOME!"

"ENOUGH!" Gideon squeezed her by the arms in his psychic grip, raising her off her feet. "The only home you're gettin' is a dark, cold prison cell!"

"PUT HER DOWN!" Carla lunged at the Child Psychic from behind.

"Oho, tryin' to tickle me again? ?" Gideon telekinetically grabbed the cat by the neck. "Sorry, Kitty, but you'll have to bite harder than that. Shoot her, Killbone!"

Gideon's henchman, an African-American with huge muscles and vicious scowl, took out a gun and shot, scratching Carla's waist with the bullet. "CARLA! !" Tears spilled down Wendy's eyes. "AH-!" One of the Aurors bashed Wendy in the head and knocked her out cold. Gideon used his psychic to make her float into the carriage where Dr. Facilier lay stunned.

The Head Auror took Facilier's cane, popped it open, and let the Devil's Wand slide out. "Yep… it's a Devil's Wand, all right. Prime condition." He set it in his pocket and took Wendy's wand. "Lamia Scale… these are rare. That pink-haired girl had the same kind."

"And now we've got them BOTH!" Gideon beamed. "Can you imagine the odds of that? TAKE 'em away! I want the report of my success in this capture mailed to President Jimmy by the morning!" He went around to sit on the front of the carriage. "Killbone, my baby seat! NOW!"

Carla coughed, trying to lift off the ground, but the bullet scratched her right wing as well. She helplessly crawled forward, eyes set strictly on the carriage where her master was trapped. "No… Give her… back to me…" The carriage magically lifted off the ground by an unseen force. Carla watched it shrink into the sky, despairing in her helpless state. "Wendy… please…" Her world turned dark. She was on the ground, asleep.

 _…My child… don't take… my child…_

* * *

 **I predict the Side Stories will have at least 40 chapters, so we're at the halfway mark. (This is the Presidents Saga, after all.) Next time, we'll do the last chapter of the Original Worlds Arc, then we'll work on the Main Story again.**


	21. Azkaban

**Last chapter of the Original Worlds Arc.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-21: Azkaban_**

 **Cleveland, Virginia**

 _A baby was crying, wrapped comfily in a blue blanket. She had beautiful brown eyes and hair as deep blue as the ocean. A man in a dark cloak took her away. She reached for her baby, but despaired as she drew farther away from her grasp._

Carla moaned as she woke up in the alley. A pair of black high-heeled boots stood before her. Carla's hazy vision moved up to see the glaring, boney face of Madame Rouge, smoking a cigarette. "Ma…Madame Rouge." The kitten spoke weakly. "Where's… Wendy…"

"She and Dr. Facilier have been taken by Magic Aurors." The French woman replied. "I saw it from ze crowd."

"You…You saw?" Carla got to her feet and angrily yelled, "Why didn't you DO anything? ! You let Wendy and your own husband be captured!"

"It vould not do to blow my own cover. I am on ze vanted lists, too. My husband is in enough trouble for harboring Vendy."

"He's still the man you married! Why would you dare to marry him if you would not fight to protect him? He might not be an honest man, but you're a terrible-"

"I vill not be lectured by you, Cat!" Rouge stretched her neck down and glared at the animal. "I do love Dr. Facilier, and ze reason I do not show myself around here often is to avoid getting him in trouble." She pulled her neck back upright and turned away. "Wendy vas not the only person running away from people who tried to arrest her. Vhen Hannibal Bean unfroze me six years ago, I could not go anywhere vithout hiding my true face. That bratty Nolan York told the G.U.N. about us and marked me in their criminal banks. Vhen my escape was noted, wanted posters have gone up. Vone day, vhen I was on a stroll through this town on a rainy night… I went into Harvey's emporium. He saw through my disguise, but had no intention of capturing me. Instead… he read my fortune."

Carla said nothing for a moment. Rouge was speaking reflectively, thinking of warm memories, the kitten could tell. "…Madame Rouge, if Dr. Facilier means to you as much as Wendy means to me… we must save them."

The slender woman turned to her. "You mean as much as a pet loves her master? Zat is not how I feel."

"You know very well what I mean."

"Regardless, zey are going to Azkaban. It is the most secure prison in the vizard community. Ve could not hope to infiltrate it."

Carla rubbed her chin with the "knuckle" of her paw-finger, thinking. "…That Mr. Floop person said that the World Government uses Azkaban as their main prison. He suspected that Chelia would have been taken there."

"Your point?"

"Well, seeing as Floop served a World Leader, he may have information we can use. Honestly, it's the only hope we have. Where did those twin hooligans take him, anyhow?"

"I know vhere they're hiding. Come with me." Rouge transformed into Rachel Uno and began to walk off.

Carla stretched her wings to fly- "Aaaah!" She sank to the ground.

"Vhat now?" Rouge asked.

"My wing still hurts. I'm afraid… I'll have to walk."

"A kitty has to walk, how dreadful." Rouge kept walking.

"Not like you ever went a mile in your own shoes." Carla retorted as she hurried after.

 **Azkaban**

The rusty doors slowly creaked open, letting light into the dull little room. World Leader Henry Churchill entered the cell, escorted by a black-haired woman with red eyes, a boney upper-body of cold blue skin, a red dress, while the rest of her body was that of a spider's. This spider woman, La Contessa, crawled up the wall and on the ceiling as Master Churchill approached Wendy Marvell, who was glued to the wall by a spider web.

Wendy's eyes were a dull red, and her face showed no expression or soul. Master Churchill gave his wry, quirky smile, reaching a hand up to softly rub Wendy's cheek. "Chapter 21 of Defeating Your Enemies: seeing them… at their weakest." Henry spoke softly. "Tell me, Miss Marvell… how long did you plan to run? Knowing that the entire world feared you, by merely putting your face on a piece of paper… It's amusing how people react.

"Did you think this old witch-doctor could hide you? Did you think your lovely pink-haired friend could protect you from me? You're sorely mistaken… because the simple fact is that you aren't a child worth saving. Wendy… do you often wonder why you were born? Why you were given a name, and a world in which to run around? It's easy… the creatures which you call the 'gods' have played you like a fool. There is no meaning behind your birth… All you are is a hindrance and a troublemaker. And here you are, sulking in the cold air the dementors have wrought. Soon, they will suck out your soul, and you will be nothing…"

 _"Uuu… Uuu-uuuuuuhhh…"_ Wendy could barely move her arms or bare feet. She tried to lift her head up and speak. _"Che…Chelia… Where is… Chelia…"_

"Chelia? On the brink of disappearing from existence, _she_ is the one you are concerned for? Hmm." Henry began to pace around the room. "Well, while I intended her to be carted to Azkaban, that was before we learned she possessed God Chi. And no ordinary mortal is allowed to have the power of a god. That power belongs to us." He turned to show his witty smile. "So we are keeping her elsewhere until we can sap the God Chi from her veins. Sorry, Dear… but you will not get to say a final farewell to each other. Floop could have made the 'Sky Sisters' a royal hit, but not all dreams can come true. And when I turn around and walk away, I will never see you again. And… now."

So Henry turned and walked out of the cell. La Contessa crawled down the web holding Wendy, tilting her face up to look in her eyes. "After the dementors are finished eating your soul, I will have the remains. I hope you taste good." The warden crawled out of the room and shut the door.

 **Cleveland; Floop's hideaway**

 _"Do!" "Do not."_ Two Floop heads bounced up and down against a green wavy background. _"I will!" "Will not." "Should?" "Could?" "Would?" "NOT!"_

 _"DO NOT pet the lion while he's slee-ping (do not)."_ Floop faced the camera and sang as Sonny was about to pet a giant lion.

 _"Or he will (WILL) tear you in-to piece-es!"_ Several Floops popped up at different distances from the camera as the lion tore up a Floop doll. _"He can!"_ sang a Floop whose face appeared directly at the camera.

 _"(Can?) Can you crush a bird with your hammer?"_ Floop made a shrug as Donna threatened to smash a bird in her nest.

 _"You can! (YES!) But no, you should NOT! (Oh, no!)"_ Floop wagged his finger.

 _"Unless you are a hobo that needs a quick snack!"_ A table floated up with plates of small turkey and scrambled eggs. Sonny and Donna licked their lips, holding knives and forks.

A trio of Floops were then sitting in a Viking boat, rowing concurrently. _"Use positives, and negatives, to accomplish, your, objectives! Conjunctions! Adjunctions! Know: how they function!"_

 _"Know your verbs! ("Mr. Floop?") Know your words! ("Mr. Floop?") Use this stone to kill TWO-"_

"I BEG YOUR PARDON, MR. FLOOP!" The show host snapped back to reality—the holographic background snapped off, revealing the true form of Goofy Goober's basement.

"Oh, Charles!" Floop acknowledged them from his chain-linked platform. "Madame Rouge! Lovely to see you! Take five, twins." He clapped his hands to lower his platform.

The birds that Sonny was about to crush with a rock immediately flew out of there. "He made us kill several of them while we were rehearsing." The male Climber said with a casual smile.

"I love modern children's programming." Donna followed.

"Whaddya think?" Floop asked with a bright smile, approaching the two women. "These twins got me a part-time job making shows for this restaurant's customers! There was mostly scrap down here, but I was able to make what I needed. Eh, don't ask where I got the lion."

"Mr. Floop, Wendy and Dr. Facilier were arrested!" Carla shouted.

"Arrested?" Floop's bright expression sunk.

"Ze Aurors caught zem. Zey are being taken to Azkaban." Rouge recapped.

"Azkaban? That's awful…" Floop looked away in remorse.

"You said that Azkaban was being used by the Government, did you not?" Carla asked. "As a former World Leader's apprentice, would you have clearance to enter the facility?"

"Heh, 'former' is the key word." Floop chuckled, pacing around the room. "Given what happened at my castle, they'll likely suspect I'll try to rescue Wendy."

"They will!" said one of Floop's clones.

"You're on break, Floop 4." At this, a hole opened on Floop 4, causing him to blow around the room as his air deflated.

"Well, do you at least know where the prison is located?" Carla asked. "I can simply fly there and rescue them myself."

"That's too dangerous. The prison's island is surrounded by a 50-foot wall, with dementors patrolling the sky. The only way in is through the gate and on a boat, but you would either need clearance or have a wanted criminal tied up at your-…" The man paused midsentence and looked at Rouge. "Wait a second… Madame Rouge… _you're_ on the wanted list!"

"Vhat are you thinking?" She glared.

"I'm thinking…" Floop rubbed his chin and resumed pacing, "if I sailed to the island with you handcuffed, and they would let us in to bring you to a cell… and we somehow found a way to sneak Carla and the kids in, and they go to rescue Wendy, Facilier, and you as well… Ugh, but how would that work."

"Perhaps we could hide under her coat?" Carla inquired.

"No, they would check that."

"My body is made of liquid rubber." Rouge informed. "I could store zem inside my body."

"DIRTY IMPLICATIONS!" the twins sang.

"You would be willing to do this?" asked Carla.

"A meager prison cannot hold me. But I trust you to do your part."

"We can also use Facilier's yacht to sail to the island. He even has a magic teleporter installed in it."

"Halright." Floop clapped hands. "It's going to be a long shot… but I think we can pull this off. Here's what we'll do…"

 **Close to Azkaban Island…** (Play "Prison Grounds" from _Sly 2_.)

After unhooking Facilier's _Old Orleans_ from the city pier, they sailed it to where Floop memorized the prison to be located: a lone island in Britain's North Sea. The sky was bleak with dark clouds, but there was an opening in the sky to allow the eerie blue moon to highlight the prison. Ghostly black beings floated in the sky over the walled island—the dementors.

 _"Attention small and shabby yacht,"_ said a voice from the speaker, _"access beyond this point is strictly prohibited by unauthorized personnel. State your name and your purpose."_

Floop activated the boat's speaker and yelled, "My name is Fegan Floop! Apprentice to World Leader, Henry Churchill!"

 _"According to the database, you were stripped of your title."_

"I know! But I captured a wanted criminal and wanted to bring her into custody. Laura De Facilier nee Mille, aka Madame Rouge."

A swarm of flying eyes came down from the wall and peeped into the yacht's windshield. They skimmed the rather chubby woman in the red jumpsuit, long black hair, and ruby lips, her gloved hands cuffed. _"She's a bit… pudgier than what our records read."_

"She's uh, been… putting on some pounds, true." Floop chuckled. "You know how these washed-up criminals are."

"Grrrrr!" Rouge growled.

 _"Hmmm… Miss Contessa, what are your orders?"_

 _"Open the gate and let them inside. We will contact Master Churchill and ask what he wants us to do with Mr. Floop."_

The gates to the wall opened, exposing the island with the steel building with three, triangle-shaped towers. Dementors floated over the sea, and the boat was steadily freezing from their presence. Madame Rouge felt her skin harden.

They docked the boat next to the island as Floop and Rouge stepped off. Two Aurors escorted them inside the facility. They retained calm auras as they were guided into the first hallway of despairing and psychotic criminals. Rouge suddenly sat down and jumped back up, dropping a large glob of rubber goop on the floor. "EUH, what'd you do that for? !" an Auror shouted in disgust.

"If I am going to jail, I'm leaving you a treat!"

"Ugh, KEEP walking!" The Auror pushed her along. "Somebody call the janitor!"

After they were gone, Carla climbed out of the goop. "I share his disgust… Sigh, alright, let's find Wendy and the doctor and escape as soon as possible. Oh, I pray to God they haven't hurt her, yet…"

 _Stage B-17: Azkaban_

 _Mission: Rescue Wendy and Dr. Facilier._

Carla hurriedly jogged down the corridor, already creeped by the prisoners eying her with craving looks. She peeked around a left turn and saw Floop and Rouge being led up some stairs. Carla jogged over to said stairs, but skidded to a halt when an old, man-size bird, who had the dark feathers of a crow and the neck of a vulture, and wearing a guard's uniform, limped around the corner behind the stairwell, holding a lantern. Carla ducked into a different passage on her right. _"Caw?"_ The vulture-crow (Shadow Guard) heard Carla's movement, and when she saw that lantern light about to come around, she tried to lift off the ground and fly. "Nnn!" Her wing still injured, she could not go far.

Carla kept running, making little sound with her tiny paws. She turned a left corner and found a door to a janitor's closet, and a hole high up on the wall. She couldn't fly up there, so she opened the closet and found a broom to lean on the wall, under a shelf of pictures with cobwebs. Carla quickly climbed the broom's stick, hopped on the shelf, hopped to another higher shelf, and from there could jump into the hole. The Shadow Guard arrived at the passage, but did not see what creature was making the disturbance.

Carla landed on top of a gargoyle statue outside, feeling the eerie cold air on her fur. The presence of the dementors lurking around made her feel despair… she felt her very happiness slipping away. But she tried not to let these feelings get to her, picturing Wendy's image firmly in her mind. If she did not hurry, she would never see Wendy again. The gargoyle was hanging over the raging sea, but on her left, Carla saw a dented path going up the wall. Carla glided over, despite the pain in her wing, and managed to set foot on the base of the dent. She clasped the rugged wall and began to climb.

It was hard to keep a firm grip in her little paws, and her left foot slipped for a brief moment, but she passed off the jump in her heart and kept climbing. She faltered when the cold seemed to grow, and her fear increased dramatically when she viewed ahead: dementors loomed over the wall she was climbing, and the black phantoms drifted down to feast on the kitten's soul. But then, a giant spider made of silvery-white light crawled down the wall and scared the dementors away. Carla felt a warmth radiating from the spider, and when she viewed ahead again, another large spider, but with a skinny woman's upper body, black hair and red eyes, crawled over the side. Based on Floop's info, she must've been the Contessa.

"The dementors have been acting very frisky lately." The Contessa said to herself. "Perhaps I should feed them Facilier's soul now. A wizard who has ties with a Devil must be a 5-Star meal. And perhaps Madame Rouge can be the appetizer… while Wendy will serve as dessert. Hmm, this is really working out for everyone." The spider woman crawled away, not seeing Carla.

The winged kitten made it up onto the wall and viewed a small prison yard where the Shadow Guards were roaming. Carla was able to sneak between two vultures who were faced away from each other, then around another one as it was in mid-turn. She was standing under a small tower with a sign above the door that read _Prisoner Belongings_. _Perhaps they are keeping their wands inside._ Carla thought to herself.

A series of gargoyle statues went up and around the tower. She climbed up on a convenient trashcan, mustered strength in her wings, and flapped up to the nearest gargoyle. She repeated the maneuver for the other gargoyles—a dementor came around the bend. Carla climbed down and clutched the side of the gargoyle to hide from its hooded gaze. The phantom loomed close, almost certain there was a frightened little snack to feast on, but it resumed flying and ignored this feeling. Carla climbed back on the gargoyle and flapped up the rest of them.

She took a minute to catch her breath and ease her sore wings after getting onto the top of this building. She peered into the glass-made roof, seeing the items confiscated from prisoners. The shiniest one in there was Wendy Marvell's Lamia Scale. Carla was able to flip open one of the window panels and drop into the room. Facilier's Devil Wand was thankfully placed next to Wendy's on the table, but it was tied by metal cuffs. Carla looked around the room and saw a sword leaned against the wall. She used the sword to pick the locks on the cuffs—she only had to pick the first one before the Devil Wand JUMPED out and hit against the wall.

Carla jumped to grab the wand, but it struggled like a living entity. "Please, calm down!" Carla whispered. "I could understand wands choosing a wizard, but having their own free will is a different story. Are you trying to find Dr. Facilier? We'll find him, please settle down!"

She shoved the Devil Wand and Lamia Scale into her satchel, which stuck up in a certain direction as the former was still moving. To escape this sealed room, Carla decided to ram herself against the double doors. She then hid behind some junk as she saw a crow-vulture's silhouette appear on the paneled door windows. The guard unlocked the door and crept in in search of the source of the sound. Carla used her small size to sneak behind the bird, avoiding detection from the two outside as she ran to the other side of the yard.

She entered a door to another hallway of jail cells. A Shadow Guard was marching up from ahead, so Carla hid behind a trashcan. The guard about-faced and patrolled forward before passing the can. Carla saw another gargoyle several feet up, but the only available boost to jump to it was the Shadow Guard. So when the crow was close to it, Carla hurried up, jumped up on its back, and quickly flapped up above the gargoyle. "CAAAW! CAW!" the Shadow Guard panicked, flapping its wings and looking around for its assaulter. It didn't spot the winged cat, so it resumed patrolling, though with a fearful expression.

Carla stepped on a thin ledge over some cells and sidled across, then grabbed hold of a chain dangling from a few feet up. _"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"_ a scream echoed from the prison depths.

 _"We can do this all day, you know. Legilimens!"_

 _"Aaaah! You won't… get a shred of thought out of me!"_

"That sounds like Dr. Facilier." Carla whispered. "I must be close." And right she was, for after climbing to the top of the chain, she viewed a wide open floor leading to a door where the screams and buzzing sounds seemed to echo from. She glided over to the edge of this floor, but took note of the Beamos standing around. The one-eyed mechs were immobile, but Carla thought they would shoot their lasers if she got close. In fact, she had to quickly jump back after walking closer; the Beamos shot its laser, but it ceased when she was far away again. Carla looked at the brick floor and saw how some of the bricks were broken and disorderly. When she stepped on these bricks, the Beamos didn't attack her. She stayed on this trail and made it across.

When the door was about to open, Carla gasped and backed herself against the wall beside it. Three Aurors stepped out. "I don't know if it's some kind of voodoo, but his mind is too strong. But if this guy is involved in black market deals, we have to crack him. And if he was harboring that Wendy, he could be connected to the Man With the Red Eye."

"Why don't we call a specialist from Bulgaria?"

"We shouldn't have to. A few minutes with the dementors will scare him straight." Carla snuck behind the Aurors and into the room before they shut the door and walked away.

"Mr. Facilier!" Carla exclaimed after finding him strapped to a metal bed. "I've brought. . ." The cold and dreary air became apparent as she looked up and gaped at the cloud of dementors.

"Nnn!" Facilier twisted his left hand to face up and open. "Carla, my wand! Gimme my wand!"

"Oh-!" Carla snapped back to reality, fishing through her shaking satchel to get the frisky Devil's Wand. The dementors floated down, she was frozen with fear, for they were going to suck out her soul.

"CARLA!"

The cat flinched and dropped the satchel as the wand flew out and up to his hand. "Expecto Patronum!" A silvery-white raven flew out of the wand and forced the dementors into backing away. "Alohomora!" He used the unlocking charm to open his cuffs and set his feet on the floor.

"Mister Facilier, where did they take Wendy?"

"Ah dunno, they separated us. But we should be able to find her. Point Me Wendy!" The Devil's Wand whipped to point up diagonally. "A couple of floors up. Let's get moving." They exited the room, and Facilier cast spells to stun the Beamos when they tried to shoot lasers. "We'll go this way." Facilier grabbed Carla and used his green Flubber to rope across some gargoyles high on their left over the lower hallway. They swung to a high ledge with a door that led outside.

They were on a balcony overlooking the ocean (before the outer wall, at least), and looked up at the row of gargoyles leading to the top of this tower. "Say, can you fly?"

"No, my wing was shot. I can't go very high."

"Sigh, too bad Devil Wands don't heal well. Wait, how did you get here, anyway?"

"I'll explain as soon as we find Wendy, can we just hurry?"

"Alright, alright. We'll get a better view from up here." He used his Flubber to rope the first gargoyle, yanked the green blob, and loosened his grip to launch them up. He quickly roped the next gargoyle, launched up, and repeated until they were at the top. He cast the Point Me spell, and his wand aimed at the tower across the central prison yard. "Looks like it's that window. Gonna be a hard trip."

"Could you use a spell to make me float there? Then I could give Wendy her wand."

"Well, I guess that would simplify things…"

"I suppose I'll just tell you, Mr. Floop, Madame Rouge, and the twins are here, too. Rouge was posing as a prisoner that Floop was turning in, and the twins were inside her."

"'kay, I'll send you over to help Wendy, and I'll look for them. Careful, Charles."

"Will do, Harvard." With that, Carla was uplifted with Wingardium Leviosa, gently floated over to the opposite tower. Dementors saw her coming and came to get their snack, only to be averted by Facilier's Patronus. As soon as the kitten set her feet on the barred windowsill, the doctor released the spell.

Carla peered into the dark room and saw Wendy glued to a spider web. "Wendy!" she called in hushed tone. "Child! It's me!"

 _"Uuuuuooo…"_ A faint moan leaked from her mouth.

"Wendy, I've got your wand. Don't worry, we're going to get you-"

The door to that room opened. The Contessa crawled in, her red eyes the only highlighted feature on her eight-legged body. "Guess what, Wendyyy? It's time for dinner. Hm?" She caught a glimpse of a cat's shadow in the window light, but it was gone. The Contessa walked in front of the window and saw nothing. In reality, Carla was now clutching the edge of the sill as tight as her paws could.

The kitten pulled up to peep into the cell, watching as Contessa took Wendy off the web, wrapped her up, and set her on her bulbous behind. "Master Churchill wants a recording of the dementors sucking your soul. We'll record it along with Dr. Facilier and Madame Rouge. And as for Floop… well, that'll depend on Master Churchill's decision." The spider woman crawled out of the room and slammed the door. The echo of the door seemed to sound from outside. Carla looked down and noticed the stairs leading up and around the tower. Contessa was coming down them with Shadow Guards at her behest.

They were then walking across a wall on the side of the central yard. Carla jumped off the windowsill and flapped her wings to soften her fall. She chased after the guards and warden, tailing close behind without making too much noise. When one guard turned around, Carla gasped and hid behind a broken part of the stone fence. The guard returned beside his friend, but this gave Carla an idea: she grabbed a lone rock off the ground and threw it down to the island surface over the fence. The guard came back to investigate the noise, while Carla climbed across a thin ledge under the fence, leading to another broken part. She could then sneak behind the guard, run up, and do a brief Torpedo Spin that knocked him over the edge. It seemed vulture-crow hybrids didn't fly well.

They turned a corner on the wall, and Contessa was about to crawl down some stairs leading to the center yard (but if she's a spider, taking the intended path seems unnecessary). Carla saw a cat-size hole in the ground, and a similar hole further head. She tossed another rock back and dove into the hole. When the Shadow Guard came to look around, Carla quickly crawled through the small tunnel and out the other side, viewing the backside of the guard as he peered into the hole. With catlike reflexes, Carla ran up his back, grabbed his vulture head, and pulled it into the tiny hole. Carla crawled out the other side again, and the large bird frantically flapped its wings, unable to get his big beak out of the little hole.

 _I'll never be able to do that again._ Carla thought, quickly catching up to the Contessa. The spider woman crossed the central yard, approaching a sealed door. Carla grabbed the Lamia Scale and held it up as she quick-walked closer to Wendy. The child showed no signs of motion, and her dull red eyes stared at Carla. Carla hated seeing her master in such a state, and hoped above hope that returning Wendy her wand will refuel her with power and confidence. The second Contessa stopped to begin unlocking that door, Carla reached up to give Wendy her wand, expecting a reaction.

 _"Caw!"_ An ordinary crow flew down—Contessa launched a web from her butt, pulled it down, and snatched the bird before sinking her teeth into its flesh. Carla ran behind one of the lamp posts as fast as her heart beat. The Contessa looked around and raised a brow. "Hmph… useless guards." The Contessa pulled out a red wand with a spider web design and opened the spider-shaped lock. She crawled in the building with Wendy bouncing on her behind, not hearing Carla crawl into the door before it closed.

The Contessa crawled down a wide flight of stairs, leading into the prison's basement. Carla noted the webs on the diagonal ceiling, spiders crawling around them. She wondered if they were Contessa's children. These spiders hung down in attempt to bite Carla, so she maneuvered around them. At the bottom of the stairs, the Contessa entered a very large room with more webs on the ceiling, dementors, and two of those silvery-white spider Patronuses were on the webs. There were web mummies hanging on them, too, likely the Contessa's victims. Madame Rouge and Floop had been brought here. (End song.)

"Contessa!" one of the Aurors yelled. "Dr. Facilier escaped from his cell! His and Wendy's wands are missing!"

"What? ! Weren't you interrogating him? !"

"I-It was right after we went for break!" he stuttered. "Er, but don't worry, Miss!" As he talked, Madame Rouge saw Carla in the darkness on their right. "When we called Master Churchill, his answering machine said he was on a tea and golf break. We have plenty of time to catch-"

Rouge stretched her legs and kicked the Aurors away. She puffed her arms and broke off her cuffs, but when she tried to stretch and grab Wendy, the spider woman shot a web up to the webbed ceiling and pulled herself up, along with Wendy. Contessa stuck the wrapped-up child to the webs. "No one steals MY dinner! Dementors, attack!" She snapped her fingers and made her Patronuses vanish.

When the phantoms flew down to dine on the rubber woman, Sonny and Donna burst out of Rouge's fat area. _"The Comical Twins are here to SAVE THE DAY!"_

"Lovely, you brought some more morsels." Contessa smirked. "But no child can bear their will against the dementors."

"Expecto Patronum!" The raven Patronus flew in and scared the dementors away. Dr. Facilier jumped between Contessa and his friends. "Laura, take the twins and Carla outta here! I'll save Wendy. My Patronus will protect you from any more of them."

"You really think you can win?" Rouge asked.

"I mighta got my ass whupped before, but that's because my cane reduces the full power of my Devil's Wand. Now that it's out in the open, it's ready for action!"

"Now, hold on!" Carla shouted. "I'm staying here and helping Wendy! And don't try to tell me otherwise."

"I know I am not staying." Rouge remarked, grabbing the twins. "Do not die on me, Harvey!" She raced out of the room with the raven Patronus following them.

"Aren't you going to stop them, Floop?" Contessa glared.

"Actually, I'm feeling a little gassy!" Floop's body puffed. "Oh, Floop." The balloon popped.

"Fine, you can help." Facilier said to Carla. "But stay back and let me wear her down first."

"What kind of creature is the Contessa, anyway?"

"I am an Arachnimorph." Contessa replied, keeping her hand on Wendy as she stood on her web. "We are spiders who can take the shape of humans."

"They're a despicable race." Facilier said with a scowl. "They pose as humans and go out on dates with real humans. They lure 'em back to their cave for 'dinner', and guess what happens next."

"Sadly, there have been advances in anti-disguise charms. My people keep getting discovered, and we cannot land any decent meal. However, I was lucky enough to find a friend in one of the World Leaders. Now I have a full-time job where I can have all the food I desire, and for a good cause."

"A good cause, my tail!" Carla retorted. "This prison is a nightmare house! Using these horrid phantoms to eat the souls of your inmates? ! Let alone an innocent child like Wendy! Do you really find pride in this?"

"Why not? You humans are as despicable as us spiders. Stealing and slaughtering others for petty gain. There is a reason prisons were created. And scum like this little troublemaker…" Contessa bent her head over Wendy's gloomy face and rubbed her cheek, "will atone for their sins in mine and the dementors' bowels. –AAAHH!" Facilier shot her with a fire spell that made Contessa drop to the ground.

"The only scum in this room is YOU!" Facilier yelled. "Wendy never had any reason for being on them posters, and if the Government didn't have mindless idiots like GUN at their disposal, she wouldn't be here! We're getting out of here as soon as I kick yo' ass!"

"Don't think I'll go down with a simple giant newspaper!" Contessa got back on her feet. "I may be a spider, but I am an excellent witch. You know how most wizards can only cast one spell at a time? Well, my Spider's Leg allows me to cast _eight_ spells at a time!"

"So that's how you had two Patronuses active. But we'll see how your eight spells compare to my voodoo!" Facilier moved the skull and crossbones on his hat over his face. "I hope you're ready, Contessa!"

"You think you're the only voodoo master in here? All you're doing is burning carbs. And I like my food spicy!" (Play Sally's Song from _Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge_!)

 _Boss fight: La Contessa_

Facilier shot attack spells at the spider woman, but Contessa jumped to his left and shot three web balls. The doctor flipped right and shot a Leg-Locker Curse at her, tying the Contessa's eight legs as she fell forward. She shot up to her ceiling web, pulled up, then aimed her bottom at the ground to shoot out eggs. Baby Arachnimorphs crawled at Facilier and jumped on him, but his shadow ripped them off quickly while the doctor stomped them. "Facilier, Wendy!" Carla shouted, pointing up frantically when Contessa was going to eat the child.

"SHADOW, GO!" The doctor sent his shadow up to grab the woman by the neck and tug. Contessa clutched Wendy and tried to bite her, but the shadow gave a forceful tug and made her fall to the ground. Facilier ran at the spider to kick her, but Contessa recovered and gnashed his leg in her teeth. Facilier kicked her, but the spider's grip remained firm as the pain in his leg grew. "Sectumsempra!" The second he cast the spell, Contessa broke away, and Facilier ended up cutting his own leg.

"AHH!" He slouched. "Augh… that's gonna need stitches."

"Seeing that blood only makes me HUNGRIER!" Contessa hissed, crouching down like a predator. "I WANT YOU!" She lunged again, but Facilier blew her back with a Reductor Curse.

"Facilier, we need to cut Wendy down!" Carla shouted.

"Not when I'm around!" Contessa blew the smoke away with a wind spell. "I'm giving this place a makeover!" Her wand flashed, and thick spider webs as wide as logs popped out around the walls. Facilier was pushed against a wall by one of them, dropping his Devil's Wand. He flinched when Contessa dropped onto his web, close to his face. "The only people who could use a Devil's Wand is one who's sold their soul to a Devil. And you accuse me of being evil?"

The wand flew back into its master's hand as he aimed it at her head. "I put my past behind me." He said before shooting her off, then burning the web with fire. "But I still keep in contact with old friends!" Facilier grabbed a vial of pink liquid from his jacket and smashed it on the ground, creating a pink explosion. Colorful designs moved along the walls as voodoo dolls and tiki masks emerged from them. Contessa scoffed and shot Sectumsempra to slice the dolls, Reductos to destroy the masks, and Protego to shield herself.

She saw Facilier casting fire spells to burn the thick webs, then Contessa launched a web over to catch him and throw him against the wall. Contessa leapt over, grabbed him, and tried to bite his neck, but the witch-doctor dodged his head left and right before Shadow tackled her from the side. The spider used Lumos Solem to scare the shadow off, and Facilier whipped an assortment of attack spells that Contessa was quick to defend. The spider-woman shot a web to the ceiling, swung across, and knocked him down.

Contessa jumped off and shot a swarm of large spiders out of her wand onto Facilier, who grabbed his Flubber and spun around with it to catch and throw them off. The Contessa shot a web at the end of the Flubber, but Facilier whipped it back, pulling the spider's web and making Contessa fly over as well. Facilier punched her across the jaw, and Contessa returned this by scratching his face with her arm-legs.

One of the spiders she conjured landed next to Carla, who also noticed the web column leading up to Wendy. Carla hopped on the large spider and rode it like a bull. "I don't know the Spanish word for 'spider', but you better do what I say! Now, take me up to Wendy!" The spider did as told and crawled up the web. Carla took the Lamia Scale out of her satchel and held it up to her. "Child, here! Your wand, please take it! Please!" She poked her face with it. "Wendy, why aren't you moving? ! Did they already take your soul? !"

"No, they haven't, yet." Contessa hissed as Facilier had his arms around her neck from behind. "But I told you a child's will can't last long in the dementors' presence."

"That doesn't mean we can't bring it back!" Facilier yelled, punching her head against the ground and hopping off. "I didn't want to in case the others still needed it, but I'll chance it. Expecto Patronum!" He shot his raven Patronus up to float by Wendy's face. Its light reflected off her eyes.

"You think that'll help?" Contessa whacked Facilier with her butt to knock him down, and when he tried to get up, she flashed a hypnotic beam from her eyes and made him dizzy. She blasted a spell that made him flip up into the air and get stuck on the ceiling web. The Contessa crawled up the wall, excited to dine on his flesh. "…Oopsie!" Facilier perked when a bottle of green liquid fell to the ground and shattered, causing a larger current of the green ooze to float up and encase his body. It burned the Contessa's arms when she tried to touch him, and burned the webbing so he could drop free.

"What is that?" Contessa questioned.

"Voodoo magic condensed into liquid!" Facilier spoke as his eyes and the inside of his mouth appeared flashy and colorful, complimented by the magical skull mask over his face. "You never know when you might need some!" The entire room glowed an eerie green as he controlled a wave of stitches and sewing needles. Some wrapped around Contessa's legs while others began to cut up the web binding Wendy. More tiki masks appeared and floated up to attack Contessa.

"Expecto Patronum!" The warden cast four spider Patronuses to keep the tikis at bay. "You know Patronuses work on voodoo creatures too, right?" The Contessa shot the Jelly-Legs Curse at Facilier, followed by a magic web that tied him up. "Forget about sucking her soul, I'll just eat her now!"

The raven Patronus was still flapping around Wendy's face, but it was chased away by two of the spider Patronuses. The Contessa grabbed her own head and pulled it back like a hood, revealing her true, hideous face with pinchers oozing venom and eight red eyes. Wendy's conscience was coming back thanks to the Patronus, and she saw a blurry mass looming over her. _"I'll send the dementors after your soul in Hell."_

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Wendy's blurry vision saw a smaller figure jump onto the Contessa's head as the spider shook. "If you lay a single leg on her, I SWEAR I'll kill you!" The small figure bit Contessa in the neck.

"C…Carla…" Wendy's vision became clear to see the little kitten on the hideous spider.

The Contessa grabbed Carla in both her arms and hissed at her. Carla was helplessly struggling. _"I suppose you'll serve as an appetizer."_ She opened her mouth to swallow Carla whole.

All of Wendy's other senses returned that very moment. "CARLA!" She was able to get her arm free of the cut web-wrap, grab the Lamia Scale that was dropped on the ground, and cast Expelliarmus to knock Carla away just before Contessa's teeth snapped. The spider hissed and crawled over to pick her up by the arm. _"You wanna die first? !"_

"Not today!" Facilier whipped his Flubber to pull Wendy over. "Sectumsempra!" He blasted the white slice to chop off Contessa's right arm.

 _"AAAAHH!"_

"You think you're a bringer of justice with this job, Contessa? !" The Shadow Man yelled as a tornado of liquid voodoo spun around him. "Sapping the love and joy out of people until there's nothing left? ! I don't know what sick thoughts you're thinking to make those Patronuses, but you don't deserve them! I may have done bad things and have a fondness for Dark Arts… but if I do any worthwhile thing, it's givin' this girl a reason to be happy! And if YOU got a problem with that… you can take it up with my Friends on the OTHER SIDE!"

With a wave of his wand, the voodoo spirits swarmed Contessa, attacking her from all sides and trapping her in a whirlwind. Dr. Facilier performed a dance to keep the spirits coming, preventing Contessa from recovering. When the doctor did a splits, the voodoo exploded into colorful fireworks. The dark room turned back to normal. Contessa lay defeated on the ground, her wand rolling away from her spidery claw. (End song.)

"Hoo…huff…" Facilier gasped for breath, his skull mask dispersing. "Been a while since I did that… Lemme getchu outta there, Wendy." He ripped off the rest of the web covering her and helped Wendy to her feet. "You okay?"

"I am…"

"Child!" Carla rushed up and jumped to her master's chest.

"Carla!" Wendy hugged her back.

"Hate to cut the reunion short, but we need to go! Can you walk?"

Wendy took a step forward- "Mmm!" her leg faltered. "My legs feel numb…"

"Harvey!" Madame Rouge broke into the room, and some Aurors' unconscious bodies flew in with her. "Your Patronus disappeared!"

"I had to use it to save Wendy. Sorry if I worried you. Laura, I need you to carry Wendy and Carla!"

"Alright." The woman stretched her arms to grab both girls.

"Where are the twins at?" Harvey asked as they hurried up the stairs.

"They're in the center yard. We better hurry, the dementors—" When they got outside, they saw a cloud of dementors surrounding a center. Sonny and Donna were in this center, and the dementors caused the ground to freeze with their presence. The Ice Climbers looked as dull as Wendy did moments ago, their bodies steadily covering in ice. _"Secure the island!"_ Aurors were swooping in on broomsticks, landing on every wall and tower. _"The prisoners must not escape!"_

"Expecto Patronum!" Facilier tried to cast one from his wand, but the light came out in an impure mist. "Darn it! I used up too much power just then."

"Dr. Facilier, the twins!" Wendy yelled with worry.

"Hold on! What are they doing?" Carla asked.

As the dementors were slowly moving closer to them, Sonny and Donna weakly looked up and smiled at each other. "Hey, Donna…?"

"Yes, Sonny?…"

"…It's really… cold here, isn't it?"

"…Super cold…"

Both siblings slowly reached and locked their mittened hands. The ice encased their bodies, their brown hair turned white, and their hands glowed with their Ice Chi. They raised their hands up, slammed them on the ground, and the entire prison island froze solid. It began to snow, and the Aurors shivered. The ocean around the island was also frozen. "…Well, that was something." Facilier remarked, having protected them with an anti-freeze spell.

Madame Rouge stretched over to grab the twins and pull them through the dementors. They went up the stairs to one of the walls and found the side of the island their yacht was parked, jumping off and racing to the boat. Floop was waiting for them. "Well, we were all set to go, but then the ocean froze! What happened?"

"These kids did it." Facilier indicated the twins, whom Rouge dropped on the floor, still making dull smiles. "My guess is they got a power boost from the dementors. Never seen an icebender do that."

"Well, can they unfreeze? ?"

"Don't worry, I've got another idea." Facilier ran down into the storage hull and opened a crate filled with potions. He found a blue one and drank, restoring his energy. Afterwards, the doctor ran back onto the deck and shot fire down into the frozen water, opening a hole for him to dive into.

"Mr. Facilier!" Wendy yelled.

"I swear, zat man is more insane than Brain sometimes." Rouge said.

"What's happening to the boat? !" Floop yelled when the vessel began rumbling.

The _Old Orleans_ was lifted by the tentacles of a giant squid. The squid's head rose above the surface, and Dr. Facilier was standing on it, clutching his wand in his teeth, folding hands above his head, and swaying his head to a mystical, banjo-like tune. "He's controlling the squid!" Wendy remembered when he did this to the Racatan at Orchid Bay.

The giant squid smashed through the frozen ocean and out of the gates to Azkaban. More Aurors were hovering on brooms and casting spells that made water spires sprout up, so Facilier had the squid maneuver around them. The dementors were catching up, taking the form of a dark cloud, but since Facilier couldn't shoot a Patronus like this, he kept the squid moving. The squid had to dodge around reefs, whose presence was only indicated by waves crashing into them. Once the reefs were passed, a small fleet of GUN navy ships started to fire at them.

When two more GUN ships were coming up ahead, Facilier had the squid set the yacht down on their right, then he jumped onto the deck, letting the squid crash into the ships in its last seconds of hypnotism. "Just about every wizard-owned facility has a giant squid in its waters. Is the Apparator functional?"

"It is!" Floop responded.

"Good, then I'm getting us out of here!" Facilier jumped at the controls and set coordinates for the Apparator. "We're going to Iceland!" He pressed the activate and opened a spiraling green portal in the sea ahead. The yacht sailed inside and was gone, leaving the pursuing dementors in confusion.

 **Ocean close to Iceland**

The boat popped out of the other end of the portal, on a peaceful sea and clear night sky. "Sigh…" Wendy sat on the deck and rubbed her legs. "My legs are sore…"

"Perhaps they're just cold. I'll warm them up." Carla hugged her master's legs.

"Hm hm…" Wendy smiled at the gesture. "…Carla, your wing!" She noticed the hole in her right wing.

"Oh, right." Carla looked at the wing and flapped it. "Well, I guess I won't be much help to you now. I'll just be a hindrance."

Wendy grabbed the kitten and hugged her to her chest. Tears dripped onto Carla's head. "No you won't. You saved my life… I'll always want your help."

Facilier, Floop, and the Ice Climbers smiled at their moment. Madame Rouge kept her usual scowl, but she watched them nonetheless. Wendy looked up at each of them. Dr. Facilier, Mr. Floop, Madame Rouge, Sonny and Donna (whom were still partly frozen with white hair). "…I'm sorry… for causing so much trouble for you all."

"It ain't yo' fault." Harvey said. "Besides, someone had to teach that hag a lesson."

Carla gasped. "Oh, no! I completely forgot about Chelia! W-What if she's still-!"

"She isn't." Wendy said. "That World Leader came to my cell… he told me Chelia wasn't there. They took her somewhere else to suck out her God Chi."

"Well, we'll find her, Wendy." Floop said with promise in his voice. "We'll find where they're keeping her and rescue her, too. She'll be added to our group… and I'm going to make us one hell of a sitcom!"

"Is that the only thing on your mind? ?" Carla giggled.

"What? I have creator's urges, what do you expect?" he asked with a shrug. The group exchanged in slight laughter, except for Madame Rouge, who sighed at the simple attempt at humor.

 _It really is just like Fairy Tail. A family I didn't know I had. I hate to ask this of them… but I hope they never leave my side. I'd like to meet more people like them, too. …_ It was then Wendy remembered Cheren.

 **Symphonia; Bald Mountain**

Medusa, Thanatos, and Pandora approached the dark mountain where dementors roamed. The mountain whose odd shape was in actuality the folded wings of the Song Demon, Chernabog. Pandora was in her god form, a black and blue flame with a face and halo. The Goddess of Chaos unleashed a beam from her mouth that exploded the mountain.

"Chernabog wakes up once a year on La Melody Extravaganza." Medusa recapped. "But until then, he must rest to recover his energy, robbed from him by the Three Goddess Bells. If he were to awaken _before_ the one-year mark…"

A shadow appeared in the smoke. It was shaped like a baby with horns and small wings. Chernabog crawled out… the terrifying demon had the appearance of a baby. An adorable face with chubby cheeks, and his innocent glowing eyes made him look cuter. He crawled up to Medusa, who was the size of a doll compared to the big winged baby. Medusa smirked as she proceeded to finish her sentence: "He's going to be very cranky."

Medusa decided to flick his young nose. Cherny felt the slight tinge of pain. _"Buu buu bu…"_ Tears welled up in his shiny yellow eyes. The cranky demon cried out his feelings. **_"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"_** The earth around Bald Mountain cracked, and any mortal within ten miles went deaf.

* * *

 **The Contessa comes from _Sly 2_ , but the Arachnimorph concept is from _Gravity Falls_ (I made them one in the same 'cause they are :P). Next time in the Side Stories, we will begin the Tenth Firstborn Arc. But don't worry, the Original Worlds don't really end here. Sadly, it will be on hiatus until I write more of the Main Story. Still, we made a fair amount of progress in a short time. Here, have an Atbash Cipher.**

 **…**

 ** _WLM'G GLFXS SVI YZYB_**


	22. The Gear Heart

**Get ready for another helping of Side Stories chapters. We will go through the Tenth Firstborn Arc, which extends across the Art and Lazarus Sagas. Let's get started.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-22: The Gear Heart_**

 **Iceland; Climbers Household**

After escaping Azkaban, Team Facilier took refuge in Sonny and Donna's house on Oil Ice Mountain. It was a pretty log cabin with hunting gear and meat that their parents collect from their travels. The living room had a stuffed polar bear with purple shorts and sunglasses. It creeped Wendy out.

The blue-haired mage-in-training awoke on her small, but cozy guestroom bed. Carla was asleep at the foot of the bed, and looked more peaceful and cozy than Wendy did. Carla's wing had a bandage wrapped around the hole. Wendy smiled, remembering how everyone saved her. She was so grateful, and felt bad that Carla was injured.

"Carla." She reached over and shook the kitten. "It's morning. Wakey wakey."

"Mmmmm…" Carla's slanted brown eyes peeped open. The blurry image before her morphed into the clear form of her young master. "Is it time for food?…"

"Are you hungry, Carla?" Wendy grinned.

"Well, cats usually ask for food in the morning… and I feel more like an average cat." She flexed her wing lightly.

"Don't be silly. You're smarter than the average cat!"

"Hm hm hm! Then I should make use of my intelligence and steal a family's picnic basket."

"Or make a bunch of equations that could catch an ostrich!"

"Hm hm, perhaps!" Carla hopped off the bed as Wendy got up. The kitten brushed against her legs and purred. "Good morning, Master."

"Since when do you call me 'Master'?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised how a pet's behavior changes when her master is gone for so long."

Wendy picked Carla up and faced her. "I don't wanna be your master. I wanna be your friend!"

"…" Carla returned the gesture with a soft smile. "Thank goodness, because it's a real shame when the brains is not the master."

"Exactly! …W-WAIT!" Wendy flushed.

"Hyou walked right into that one!" Carla laughed.

When the two entered the living room- "Wendy Carla, Cendy Warla!" Sonny and Donna bounced out to greet them. They wore a green and yellow sweater, black pants, and socks.

"Hello, you two." Carla smiled.

"Look! We don't have white hair anymore!" Sonny beamed.

"We're not becoming sad old people!" Donna followed.

 _"And we're not dying to save a fish's life!"_

"We had to put them by the fireplace until they warmed up." Their father, Popo said. He was a handsome, robust man with similar clothes to the twins, but a blue sweater. "They were in some kind of Ice Fury. I've never seen it before."

"If we didn't warm them, they would've turned into kidsicles!" Nana cheered. The mother had long brown hair and wore a pink sweater.

"THEY TASTE LIKE YOUTH!" The four Climbers jumped.

"…The parents look like they're twins." Wendy whispered, staring awkwardly.

"Indeed." said Carla.

 _"OH, FLOOP!"_ An explosion came from the kitchen. The six people looked in to see Fegan Floop covered in soot. "Eh… I tried making a cooking robot out of some firewood I found outside. In retrospect, it might've… misunderstood its programming."

 _"Having strangers in our house is fun!"_ Popo and Nana sang.

"That reminds me, Mr. Facilier is waiting for you downstairs." Nana said. "Don't keep him waiting!"

Wendy, Carla, and the twins walked down to the basement. It was pitch-black, but a faint light revealed the doctor's silhouette on the other side. _"Young mages and magic enthusiasts: Dr. Facilier presents the relocation of the Voodoo Emporium:_ VOILA!" Lights flashed on, revealing the boxes and assortments of magical items on shelves.

"Woooow!" Wendy gaped in awe. "It looks just like the old one!"

"It is! After we escaped Azkaban, I got in contact with my Friends on the Other Side. They slurped up every last artifact and moved it all here before them Aurors ever had a chance to notice! From now on, business will take place here. You see that door?" Facilier pointed on their right. "It's connected to the door to the old shop in Cleveland! When people knock on it, namely my old customers, I'll be able to see and let 'em on in!"

"That's amazing! I'm glad your customers can still come to see you."

"But the Government can just as easily find us again." Carla said. "Won't it be safer to close down shop?"

"Girl, we can't close this down!" Facilier flapped his arms, emphasizing his logic. "Magic ain't just some product, it's a living thing, it needs life and love! People need to explore the wonder of magic, especially them everyday folk who doubt it exists!"

"He's right, Carla." Wendy smiled, doing a twirl. "Magic is all so wonderful! You can do anything you want and possibilities are endless!"

"And what's more, due to that chaos up in Washington, the Government's all sorts of disorganized!" Facilier grinned.

"Oh, yeah. I'm glad we got to go to Mr. Uno's funeral. I enjoyed it. …!" Wendy flushed when she retraced her words. "I MEAN, I didn't enjoy it, I hated it! -! I MEAN, I'm upset that Cheren's father is dead, but I'm glad that… um…" She looked away, cheeks still red, "It feels like we're friends now."

"When people share emotions, it brings them closer together. You'd be surprised how strong sadness is in that regard."

Wendy perked up. "I just remembered! When I was sucked into that portal, I landed in a different universe. There was a place called Fairy Tail—it had Chelia, and Romeo, a-and Carla; there was a cat person like you, and there was-"

"Wait wait wait, one at a time, Child!" Carla shouted.

"Mr. Facilier, where'd the stretchy lady go? ?" Donna interrupted.

"Who, Madame Rouge? You can't expect her to stay in one place too long. She needs to stretch her limbs and fly – or trot, depending what animal she changes into."

"Excuse me, I think Wendy was going to tell us a story." Carla reminded.

"I know that," argued Donna, "that's why I'm sad that Stretchy Lady has to miss it!"

"And I want popcorn!" Sonny pouted.

"Actually, before I do," Wendy began, "…I was wondering if I could use the Floo thing to go to Lee's house. I talked to him at the funeral and promised we would meet up…"

"Wendy, I really think you should just lay low here." said Carla. "In spite of what the doctor says, the Government may be trying even harder to find you. I don't mind getting in trouble, but anybody else could be endangered-…" Her words were making Wendy upset, Carla noticed. "Um… On second thought… perhaps you shouldn't keep him waiting. You deserve as many friends as you want."

"Aye." Harvey nodded. "Plus, if she's going to a KND sector, the Gov' will have to deal with the KND. I don't think they want that right now. So of course y'all can go to Lee's house!"

"Thank you." Wendy bowed her head. "Ahem… So, my story… I got separated from Kayla and landed in a forest…"

 **The sky somewhere**

On a chilly, starry night, the Marzipan Pirates decided to rest on a small Island Cloud. They slept next to their parked plane and listened to the peaceful music of the Mariachi Owls, whom were drifting on a different cloud. "Welcome, faithful viewers, to another chapter of Augustus's Candied Adventure." The band leader said. "Here, our intrepid explorers are weary from traveling through time, clashing with enemy pirates, and having nothing to eat but candy. They have come here to rest for the unbearable trials ahead."

 _Ohhhhh the Stone Fist Augustus_

 _And his four young crewmen_

 _They got in a fuss with_

 _Some demonic women…_

"How long are they gonna follow us…" Rallo moaned in aggravation.

"They're just sad because someone they know died." Augustus said. "Even though they foreshadowed his death, like, 20 years ago."

 _And we know how Augustus_

 _Does with the ladies_

 _He certainly likes them_

 _With skirts and braidies_

His eyes widened. "Um… What is this song about, exactly?"

 _When he's not hunting candy_

 _They're always on his mind_

 _From nearly the PM_

 _To the AM of nine_

Stewie, Rallo, and Maggie crawled away from the captain, looking creeped out.

 _These notes are believable_

 _Just take it from meeee_

 _We-put-cameras-in-his-room-on-Whole-Cake_

 _Just so we can see_

"GYAAAH!" Augustus snatched one of Stewie's weapons, shot the cloud the owls were on, and watched them plummet to the sea. "Sigh…" The captain lay back down.

Nel crawled up on Augustus's chest and stretched her arms in a hugging position as she slept. "Pterodactyl song make Aughsucks attractive."

"Ugh…"

"Why haven't we gone to Kamabaka, yet?" Stewie asked. "It was right there."

"Because Mandy's ship was sailing around it, Dummy. Like they waiting for us. But it's gone now, so maybe they gave up. First thing in the morning, we'll fly there and look for the Gear Heart."

 ** _Boogey Bay_**

Captain Mandy returned to her cabin with a half-drunk bottle of rum in one hand. "Did we enjoy ourselves?" said Lord Licorice with a wry smile, sitting on Mandy's throne.

"Didn't I tell you you can't be in here without my permission?"

"Somebody had to." The Candy Lord stood up. "Still think His Majesty rules with bias intent? He was quite fond of Mr. Uno, too. Imagine the pain he felt in executing him. I wish we hadn't have left Kamabaka just so you could attend his funeral."

"I had to." Mandy sat herself on the throne. "I owe Rachel that much, at least."

"Balderdash! You helped her slay a powerful Demon King when you were children, what more can she want from you? I, on the other hand, have a job to complete. I can easily persuade His Majesty to have the Fairy Princess captured, no matter where she may be… but I can use the same powers of authority to have you assassinated by the Cipher Pols. So, Captain Mandy, we had better get back to hunting those Lost Candies ASAP! Since the job involves taking revenge on Captain Augustus, you can't possibly want to refuse."

Mandy glared at the lord. "Why are you so fixated on these lame candies, anyway? What do you, the King of the World's dog, have to gain from expending all your time and energy trying to find them?"

"The King's orders are _absolute_! That is all I will tell you. I will send word to the other pirate crews to secure the locations of the other Lost Candies. We are to make sail to Kamabaka again soon. On your command, 'Captain.'" Licorice exited the cabin.

"Hmm… Understood." Mandy stood up and moved her throne aside. She opened a secret hatch on the wall and pulled out a dusty book with cobwebs dangling from it. _Fairy Sisters: Sugar Fairies_. "After all… it's not like the Lost Candies peak my interests as well."

 **Kamabaka Kingdom, the next day**

Like Augustus promised, he flew his crew to Kamabaka when morning hit. The island's most notable features were towering cliffs that were shaped like hearts at the top, composed of red and pink trees. There was a treehouse on top of the biggest mountain, the base of Sector KB.

The _Ace Flyer_ landed at the base of a path going up through a forest, and would lead up the mountains. "Sorry the wait was so long, but here we are: the island with the weird name." Augustus announced with little enthusiasm. "The bushes in this forest are lush with natural-growing heart candy, and at the top of this mountain lies the Gear Heart. We may just be able to find it without setting into town whatsoever."

"I smell a homophobe." Rallo remarked.

"Yeah, right." Augustus opened a new lollipop. "I don't care if we do or not. It's just hard to find any ladies that'll smooch me." He smirked before starting the lolli.

"Aughsucks want female to mate with?" Nel smiled.

"Still too young, Nel. And at the same time way too old. O-kay, pre-stage banter done, on-stage banter starts now." (Play "Deep Woods" from _Sonic and the Black Knight_!)

 _Stage B-18: Lovely Hill_

 _Mission: Find the Gear Heart!_

Boko Babas grew out of the ground, likely planted there by the Boogey Pirates. Augustus sliced them with little struggle using his new Lemon Candycane Cutlass. They came to a gorge where they would have to swing vines to the opposite ledge, and said vines had small red hearts on their ends. They were too far apart, and when Augustus threw his Gobstopper at the closest one, it wouldn't even budge. "Hmm… I remember reading about this place in a book. Everything in this forest only reacts to love."

"Wellp, I guess it was now or never." Stewie said. "Come here, Rallo."

"NOT LIKE THAT!" August shouted. "We have to use certain Heart Candies to make things react!"

"Oh! Well, of course I was only just kidding… of course." Stewie blushed.

"I wanna file a restraining order when we get back." Rallo said.

They jumped down into the gorge and saw two monkeys with strange helmets eating Heart Candies by a bush, with the candies popping in their mouths. The helmets had red lights on them. When the monkeys spotted the pirates, they chucked the Pop Hearts at them, but Augustus punched the monkeys unconscious before Stewie shot his net gun to capture them. Augustus fed some of the Pop Hearts to Nel and used her to shoot the heart vines. The hearts inflated as the vines began swinging back and forth, allowing the pirates to swing across the gorge.

A gentle rain began to pour, but the morning sun was still shining bright through the clouds. The Marzipans needed to use their Corn-Clamber Boots to climb a cliff to the next area, but the wall would not allow the spikes to penetrate it. There was a puddle of reddish water that looked like Kool-Aid down in a corner of some trees. Augustus cut away the Kool Chus guarding it and stepped their Clamber Boots in the puddle, imbuing them with love apparently and enabling the team to step up the cliffside.

They stood on the shore of a Kool-Aid river, with lilipad-hearts floating in it. The hearts were too light for Augustus to stand on, and naturally, he was the only one who could swim in the river. The captain dove under and struggled to see through the bright redness. At the bottom of the deep river, four Dexihands were surrounding a Gold Wonka Bar, so Augustus chopped the ghoulish cyan hands before claiming the candy. He resurfaced and swam further down, seeing all the taller Heart Flowers that they would eventually have to jump. He saw a platform with some Shrink Sweets and took some.

Augustus hurriedly swam back to the four children and climbed back on shore. "Sigh, sorry that took so long. We'll eat these and Nel will carry us." He handed the other three a Shrink Sweet.

"Why can't we just hide in the Infi-Cube like last time?" Rallo questioned.

"'Cause that was when no Shrink Sweets were around." Augustus threw his lolli stick in the river. "Otherwise, we breathe the air the world gives us. Now get shrimpy, Shrimpy."

After the four minimized, Nel picked them up and put them in the holes of her skull mask. The cavechild was light enough to jump on the lili-hearts. Some of the hearts had Bio Boko Babas latched underneath, so when Nel stepped on their lilipad, the plant monsters would flip it over, forcing Nel to jump quickly. The river turned right and more narrow as Nel jumped up a stairway of Heart Flowers, landing on a safe platform. She jumped two more Heart Flowers, dodging the Skulltula that dropped down and tried to bite her. Nel landed on a thin ledge on the right wall, with only enough room for her small feet as she sidled across. She got parallel with a path on the opposite side, and the cavegirl made a nimble pounce across.

When Nel was about to venture through a thin path of the rainforest, a swarm of bees began swarming around her head. "Aaaaahh! They like Rex Bees, but small! Nel sorry for taking honey!" she yelled as she tried to swat them away.

 _"Just keep moving, Nel! Maggie will shoot them!"_ Augustus yelled. Nel pranced through the path on all fours as Maggie blasted missiles full of bug-repellant at the (giant to her) bees. Nel jumped a fallen tree and dodged right to avoid a Boko Baba. Nel turned left and pounced up a stairway of Heart Flowers, with Maggie continuously shooting upcoming bee swarms so the cavegirl could get through a curtain of heart vines. They stood upon a cliff overlooking the town, the morning sun shining beautifully through the rain clouds.

Nel set her friends on a rock with some Growth Gum, watching as they stretched big again. "You were a big help, Nel." Augustus said, noticing her swollen features due to the bee stings. "It doesn't hurt too badly, does it?"

"Mm-mm." Nel shook. "Nel use love to run!"

"Heh heh…" The captain blushed. He lifted Nel over his shoulders to ride. They had to cross another cliffside with Corn-Clambers, but their boots needed a love source. A couple Kool-Aid Chuchus appeared close by, so Augustus sliced them into puddles. The four pirates stepped their clamber boots in the liquid to walk on the cliff. They could drop on an upcoming ledge, but Stewie saw three Pipo Monkeys below, catching Kool-Aid droplets from the cliff in their mouth. He proceeded to catch the apes in nets.

After landing on the ledge, the Marzipans viewed a rainbow road that stretched over the town, had many curves, and would go higher up the mountain. There was a bushel of Rock Candy, but when Augustus waved his hand through the rainbow, it waved and felt like mist. Further down the ledge was a rainbow waterfall, so he and the Baby Trio encased their selves in a Rock Candy sphere to roll to it. Heart-shaped panels stuck in and out of the ledge and threatened to push them off. The crew waited for each heart to retract as they reached the waterfall, rolled under, and drenched the rock spheres in its neon colors.

The crew returned to the rainbow road, and the rainbow-powered spheres were able to touch and ZOOM over the rainbow. They would've liked to admire the scenery as they were soaring over the town, but they had to focus on the road. There were holographic, rotating flowers on the rainbow, and when Augustus hit them rolling by, a slope tilted down from above and let them onto a higher path, where they rammed a Pipo Monkey that was forced up onto the ball.

The rainbow road began to zoom up and around the main mountain, during which they had to jump huge globs of water that rolled down from ahead. There were more flower cogs that the captain had to strike before jumping the water balls, and hitting all three would open an alternate route that curved along the right of the main road. They caught another Pipo Monkey, and the rainbow road reached its end over a cliff. The monkeys fell off Augustus's shattered rock sphere and became dizzy as Stewie caught them.

It turns out that a large eyeball lodged in a ledge was crying the water balls. The explorers climbed a few steps before looking over a barren, gray ravine. They jumped into it, suspecting some type of blockage to be behind this. "Mw-mw." Maggie turned around and indicated the blockage to her teammates: two giant stone eyes (with eyelashes) were twitching due to the small rocks lodged in their lids. "This is a weird level." Stewie said.

"Help them out, Ralls." August ordered, starting a new lollipop.

"Don't use nicknames." Rallo activated his afro stereos and stuck his head into the cracked wall under the eyes. By shaking the earth, the rocks fell out of the eyes and they started crying waterfalls. Augustus grabbed Rallo out and ran as the ravine started flooding. The crew climbed a short ladder up to a dry canal and kept running from the pursuing flow. More Cry Eyes were dropping water bombs from above, but they were a minor nuisance. At the end of the canal, they arrived at a small lake that was only partly filled, but thanks to the restored flow, it rose to full height.

Augustus grabbed the four kids and held them in the brief seconds it took to swim to the left shore, an arduous task with all four weighing him down. They had to catch their breath before studying their next puzzle: there were four platforms with heart switches, connected to pipes that ended at a stairway of deactivated water spouts. There was a Bounce Gum on the shore, and Augustus decided to attempt this puzzle himself first. He bounced over to the closest platform with a heart switch – he squished a Kool Chu that materialized, drenched his gum in its substance, and released the Kool-Aid when his gum pressed the switch.

August bounced three normal platforms to reach the next switch – it didn't activate and the gum popped. The third platform had another one next to it with a Kool Chu. Augustus swam back to shore to repeat the puzzle, this time hitting the Chu and pressing the second switch. He then had to bounce on the shells of two large turtles, before the third turtle would serve as a boost to the switch. However, August continuously bounced on the turtle as it swam beside a platform with the Kool Chu, smashed it, then pressed the switch. From there, Augustus bounced some lilipads that sunk after one bounce. The Kool Chu spawned on a small lilipad which surprisingly withstood Augustus's weight, then he pushed the fourth switch.

The Baby Trio used Bounce Gums to cross a row of platforms that served as a shortcut to the right shore. They all smashed some available Kool Chus so their gum would be permitted onto the stairway of now-active water spouts, setting foot on the ledge above. They were almost at the top of the mountain, but their path was blocked by a series of brick walls, and wooden towers with Bulblin archers perched on top. "Stewie, you're the only one who hasn't had a role in this stage, yet." Augustus remarked. "Any ideas to get through here nice and easy?"

"Well, since this level revolves a lot around Kool-Aid, why not now? HEY, Kool-Aid!"

An unexcited Kool-Aid Guy appeared from their left. "You know the deal, kid. It's five bucks to drink it, ten bucks to ride it."

"Twenty Chocolate Dollars to burst all the way through here." Augustus gave him the candy money.

"You got it. Alright, everyone hop into my liquid." The pirates climbed into the giant pitcher. The Kool-Aid charged, broke through each brick wall, and tore the Bulblin towers down as well. "I'm gonna need a refill!" When Kool-Aid ran around a snakelike path in the jungle, Augustus directed him left and right to hit the Kool Chus and refuel him. They came to an open field, where Kool-Aid smashed open some cages with Pipo Monkeys hiding in them. He had to run around and get aligned with a series of stairway platforms, starting with the lowest one and jumping up each as they brought him to a high path with another wall to break through.

They were on a thin ledge on the side of the mountain, with a great view of the island below. Kool-Aid ran up a curve, going up a vertical path before Augustus yanked him and signaled to jump. Kool-Aid jumped a spike trap and ran up another wall, then jumped to the next path. He ran up a vertical path that took place behind a waterfall, having to jump between this one and a parallel path. His liquid poured out faster, so while there were no obstacles, he had to jump to where the Kool Chus appeared.

The Kool-Aid Man made it to the top of Lovely Mountain, where a rainbow arched over the summit. They bid the Kool-Aid Guy farewell and progressed, with rain continuing to pour through the sunlight. They found the source of the mountain's waterfall, a lake where two figures were dancing and skiing as though the water was frozen. (End song.)

"LAAAA!" One of them was a black-haired boy dressed like a swan. "Mwaaaaa!" The other was a fat, yellow monkey with banana-shaped lips, green hair, wearing a Pipo Helmet and underwear that… was not quite big enough.

"Can you dance better than meeeee?" Bon Clay Jr. sang.

"We'll just have to seeeee!" Yellow Monkey sang.

"WHEEEEEEE!" They skied close to and began twirling in the center, making graceful poses.

"What the HELL is this?" Augustus snapped.

"Yes, if they're going to figure skate, where are all the snowballs?" Stewie asked. "Figure-skating's always better when you throw a few-"

"STEWIE!" August stopped him. "Your sentences man, I…I don't like some of your sentences!"

"Nel from past." Nel said, still holding on the teen's shoulders. "Nel don't get references."

"Yaaaaah yaaaaaah yaaaaaah!" The two figures kept dancing in place. Then, Clay and Yellow, with smirks on their faces, both swung a kick at each other. "OOOOWW!" Bon Clay took the blow and splashed in the non-solid water.

"Uh-uh-uuuuhhh!" Yellow twirled to a halt and wagged his finger. "You have to do better than that to touch me, Sweetheart! Honestly, have you looked at yourself in a mirror lately? How grodyyyyy!"

"Pleh, pleh!" Clay resurfaced. "At least _my_ style comes from natural talent! I have my OWN heart to give me power! My own LOOOOOVE!" He spun and emerged from the water, making a pose as he stood on the liquid again.

"It doesn't matter to _me_ where love comes from." The Freaky Monkey took out a pinkish-red heart, with bars that one would find on a gear, and hugged it. "As long as it tastes sensulicious!" He licked it.

"It's the Gear Heart!" Augustus exclaimed, drawing his sword. "Hey, Chunky Ko-!" He splashed in the lake when he tried to run over.

"Un! Deux! Yaaaaaaa!" Bon Clay skied by when Augustus resurfaced. "You're just gonna drop on in without showing so much as a pint of feeling? Get on outta here before you filthify this lake!"

"But I wanna help you beat him!"

"I am delighted by the offer, but you shan't need to fear!" Clay twirled. "This dirty monkey invaded mah treehouse and assaulted my pals! It's high time for his just _desserts_."

"When are you gonna get it through your _cute_ little head?" Yellow Monkey swayed his hip. "You can kick me and smack me as much as you want, but I'm so much more beautiful!"

"Sector KB does not belong to you, Flashy Hat Monkeys! Even if I die, I shall continue to dance against you until you fall flat on your bubbly belly!"

"Hoo hooooo! If you were looking for a way to stir my hair follicles, you might have just found it, Sweetie Feathers." Yellow winked.

"Then our battle for the fate of Kamabaka begins right now!" Clay made a fighting pose.

"I'll look forward to keeping your beaten body as my _priiiize_!"

"Then let's go! **UN**!"

 **"DEUX!"**

 _"HEEEEEEY!"_ Both stretched an arm, crossing each other's like an 'X', and their epic battle commenced. (Play "Hippos on Ice" from _Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time_!)

 _Boss fight: Yellow Monkey_

Both fighters put hands on their hips and skated circles around the center. They spun around and stretched one leg out, blinking flirtingly at the Pipo Cameras recording them. Clay and Yellow reunited at the center, holding each other's arms as they swung kicks behind them. Yellow hugged Clay to his belly and jumped, then they held each other by one arm and rotated in place. Yellow spun faster and hurled Clay away, but the Sector Leader recomposed quickly and skated along the very edge of the lake. Yellow Monkey glided after him like a graceful ugly duckling. When Yellow was getting close, Clay swung a kick up, Yellow ducked and tried to grab him, but Clay dodged back, leapt over, and stamped Yellow in the head.

The monkey wobbled around dizzily, giving Clay the chance to kick him from behind and slide Yellow across the surface on his belly. (Again, we're assuming both of them are male.) Yellow's head slammed against the side, but the ape recovered as his vocals vibrated in anger. "Ooo-hoo-hoo-ho-o-o-o!" With that, both opponents returned to the center, facing each other as they did a Russian squat dance. They skied around for a second—then quickly threw punches at each other before Clay was slid away again.

Yellow Monkey drew the Gear Heart and slurped all over it before placing it back on his back. The ape glowed red and spun faster, exploding with hearts that flew everywhere. Bon Clay dodged the hearts and tried to kick Yellow Monkey, but the ape leaped over like a grasshopper and kicked the boy in the back. Clay spun about-face and kicked back against the wall to propel forward, but Yellow had already skied up to punch him in the gut. Yellow followed with a combo of punches before throwing one at Clay's back and sliding him forward.

Yellow Monkey smooched the Gear Heart like a man making out with his pillow. His lips seemed to stretch when he pulled his face away, but it was actually a light-red sticky goop-like energy rope linking his mouth to the heart. He stretched it longer before the rope snapped off the Gear Heart, and Yellow spun before whipping it at Bon Clay. The Okama caught the whip on his mouth, around his puckered lips, and it seemed like his and Yellow's lips were linked. Both dancers stared at each other with wide, sparkling eyes. They rotated around a center and were steadily pulling close. The sun seemed to shine on their moment. They grabbed each other, leapt in the air, and their faces moved closer…

Clay smirked, forced his momentum down and pulled Yellow with him as the ape smashed his helmet against the water-ground. Clay sliced the energy-rope with his bladed swan slipper, kicked Yellow in the belly, and rolled him against the side of the lake. Yellow got up and huffed, showing his rear to Clay as he skied away. Clay was making the same movements, except he was skiing backwards and following Yellow. When he caught up, both figures bent forward, reached behind to link hands, and their rears… okay, don't need to know that part.

The Marzipan Pirates didn't know what they were watching, and they didn't know why they were still watching. This was supposedly a boss battle, but the momentum sort of shifted a lot. "Does everyone in Futur do this?" Nel asked.

"No sentient person does this, Nel." Augustus said.

"Do they actually hate each other?" Stewie asked. "I feel like they're either friends or rivals."

Clay and Monkey kicked away from each other, circled the center in opposite ways, and when they reunited, Yellow grabbed Clay, who allowed the monkey to lead. Both of them had bright, dreamy smiles, and never felt closer with one-another. Yellow Monkey raised Clay high, making him feel like the graceful swan he is. Yellow then put Clay on his back and stretched his arms like he were an airplane. With a big smile, Clay stood and faced the opposite direction, posing like a lookout.

Bon Clay jumped off as they skied away from each other. "Heeeeey!" Clay called as Yellow faced him. The Sector Leader held the Gear Heart up.

"Ooooooh!" Monkey's mouth shaped like an 'o', and was likely meant to say 'For me?'

"There's really not any conflict here, is there?" Augustus threw his dry lollipop away.

The Kool-Aid Guy sat a few feet away, smoking a cigar. "You kids ever see _Paul Blart_?"

Yellow smiled with graciousness, his hands open as he welcomed the boy back. Bon Clay flew over and set the Gear Heart in his hands, the two of them spinning in place. But then Clay yanked the heart and pulled Monkey over, kicking him in the stomach, and when Yellow hunched over, Bon Clay STOMPED his Pipo Helmet and broke it. The chubby monkey splashed in the water, leaving Clay to keep the Gear Heart. "The thing about love is it always HURTS in the end!" He smirked. (End song.)

"WHOOOOPEE! And the battle is won by ME!"

"That will never, in a million years, be classified as a battle!" Augustus retorted. "Dude, how are you standing on the water?"

"Because I got love in me, of course! From the soles of mah slippers to the ends of my hair." Clay tugged one of his hair strands. "I'm guessing you had to solve those silly little puzzles on your way up here."

"Yep, and I will be glad when it's time to leave. Give us that Gear Heart you got there."

"No ho ho ho way." Clay wagged a finger. "I know who you are, Augustus Fizzy Pants. Cherry Boy told me how you kidnapped his lady. He told me what you done with Big Gorilla. I don't think I want you havin' this handy-dandy heart."

"What does the Gear Heart do, anyway?" Rallo asked.

"Gives ya energy!" Clay beamed. "Gives ya loooove! 'Long as you had it, you could just keep going and going and going and going and going and GOIIIIIING!" He spun repeatedly before coming to a stop. "But you'll go POOP the moment you put it down. So don't think I'm going to give it to you. My family has been protecting the Gear Heart for five thousand YEARS!"

"REALLY? ?" The crew gaped.

"Nah. I'm just an average citizen."

"D'OOH." They drooped.

"But this tasty piece of candy has been here a long time. It's our sacred treasure! Legends say it was given to us by fairies. A band of dirty pirates like you could never comprehend the value of a treasure like this. Why, you'd sooner toss it in your gut and-"

"ULP." Nel's stomach tightened. "Oh… Nel feel… PLEAAH!" She coughed the Cupcake Core onto the ground.

"Heh?" Clay raised a brow.

Augustus picked the cupcake up and wiped it clean. "For your information, we've been searching for these candies all month. They're called the Lost Candies, and there's six of them. According to the Sugar Fairy Princess, they were created by Termina Giants."

"Termina Giants?…" Bon Clay remembered that part from Cheren's story. "But what are these candies for?"

"The truth is, we don't know. But the Fairy Princess said the Illuminati – whom I assume is the World Government – is trying to destroy them. I'm trying to find them and protect them from Lord Licorice. He's the apprentice to the King of the World."

Bon Clay frowned – a rare sight even to this crew. Augustus's words seemed to stir memories in him.

 _"I really admired you, Clay. I would have followed you forever." Alexei said. "That was a mistake of my own. I found a real man to follow."_

"…" Clay stared at the Gear Heart before looking up at Augustus. "I still don't think I should give this to you. You hurt Cherry Boy's friend."

"Who the heck is Cherry Boy, your boyfriend?"

"NO… _though he is pretty…_ Perhaps 'Panini' is the key word here."

"Oh, right." Augustus looked away. "Fine, I'll admit that I was a bad guy in the past. I worked with Big Mom for my own selfish goals. The only thing I loved was adventure, and…and I still do. But now I'm actually trying to do something good for somebody – for a lot of people, by finding the Lost Candies."

"And tell me something, if you don't know what these Lost Candies are gonna do, how do you know you're doing something good for anyone, huh? ?"

"BECAUSE I AM, alright? ! Ugh, it's pointless to try and convince you, can I just have the stinkin' heart?"

"Alright then: show me how much you love the person you're doing this for. If you can walk across the water and get to me, I'll let you have it."

"Um… er…" Augustus looked at the water, unsure if he could do this.

"You don't even know Luviro that well, do ya?" Rallo asked.

"There's gotta be some trick to it. Like-" Augustus stepped in the water and splashed in.

"That ain't it." Clay shook.

Augustus climbed out and huffed in annoyance. He calmed himself and pictured Luviro in his mind. Pale white skin, wrapped almost fully in blankets… Augustus stepped in and splashed in the water again. He climbed out and proclaimed, "This is stupid! I can't just magically walk on water like Jesus or Sonic! The only reason you and that monkey can do it is 'cause you were raised on this island of magic Kool-Aid, so it's totally-…" Nel hummed a little tune as she walked on the surface, looking down to make sure her feet were on the water. "Wh… Nel?"

She turned and faced him, making a balancing posture as though she might fall. "Nel think of Aughsucks. Maybe Aughsucks think of Nel?"

"…" Augustus closed his eyes to think. He first started this adventure to find the Lost Candies for Luviro. He met Luviro seven months ago and promised to find them. But he neglected his promise to help Big Mom find Candied Planet. Because he would've loved to find Candy Planet, the world of endless adventure for all candy hunters. He would've loved to explore that world for the rest of his life. But Big Mom's true intention was to make Earth into a Candy Planet.

Augustus detested the plan… Not only would it not be the adventure of a lifetime, but it would've poisoned everyone. At first, Augustus didn't mind harming a few innocents to find the lost planet, but after learning it was Big Mom's only intention… he felt disgusted inside. He wished he spent this time finding the Lost Candies than being Big Mom's dog. He felt like granting Luviro's wish would make up for it all. He really wanted to help him.

Augustus stepped over the water—splashed in once again. "COME ON, I really gave that one some thought!"

"I guess your passion ain't strong enough." Clay taunted.

"JUST GIMME THE FREAKIN' HEART!" Augustus hurriedly swam after Clay, who skied across the watery surface. "You damn flamingo-swan-whatever, I'm gonna cook you into turkey and eat you for-!"

"Just give him the heart, Clay." A girl's soft voice said.

"Oh?" Clay looked over and smiled. "Hiya, Sapphy! You really think it's okay?"

"Yes." Sapphire nodded. "Trust me. It will be a major help to us."

"Well, Sapphy doesn't lie. It's all yours." He dropped the Gear Heart on Augustus in the water.

The captain resurfaced. "Um… thanks. See you later, Sector Weird." He and his crew began their long journey down the mountain.

"You know, fellas, Sapphy's a real good telepath." Clay told them. "She could predict what those candies are gonna do."

"That's okay." Augustus waved. "It's no adventure if we know what'll happen!"

"I knew he would say that." Sapphire said tonelessly. "And I didn't need psychic."

Augustus stuffed the Gear Heart and Cupcake Core in the _Ace Flyer_ 's trunk. "Couldn't you-a thought of your mom or dad to walk on that water?" Rallo asked as they climbed in the plane.

"Yeah, but I ain't doing it for them. Anyway, now that we have the Gear Heart, and still including Zeira's Sugar Fuel, we have four Lost Candies and two left to find. And one of them happens to be the Sun Cream."

"Perhaps I can use my Metahuman Neutralizer to purify the intoxicated Sun Cream pool." Stewie thought aloud.

"Maybe, but I still can't believe a metahuman power could affect a Lost Candy. We might've missed something back on Buttermilk. So let's fly there ASAP!" Augustus started the plane. "Now that my Haki's back, I ain't afraid of those Willy Wonka Wannabes!"

The pirates flew away from the island. Moments later, a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. landed on the same spot, and Team Emily stepped out. "Alright guys, time for our next monkey-hunting exploration!" Emily Garley declared. "We are going to catch every monkey on this island and save Sector KB! …?"

A bunch of monkeys trapped in nets were bundled at the start. They were ripe for the taking. "WHOOP, stage complete." Sarah proclaimed. "'Guess someone did it for us."

"I object to that!" Sheldon argued. "We can't just bypass a stage because of some 'shortcut.' If we don't play all the levels the way they were meant to be, we don't get the full experience, and we may even miss some crucial parts of the storyline, therefore-" Yellow Monkey dropped from the sky and smashed Sheldon. The helmetless monkey of average intelligence lifted Sheldon over his shoulder and ran off into the jungle. _"AAAAH! He's putting a dress on me! Somebody call the zookeeper!"_

 **Palace of Winds**

Somewhere in the sky, lost among the dark clouds was an ancient palace. Some say it was home to the Sky King, and had thousands of Shandoran Nimbi enslaved here. It was a story that he took interest in. Now he made this old temple his home.

The Man With the Red Eye soared through the dark clouds and entered the palace. It was pitch-black inside, so the mage had to see the way with a light on the tip of his wand. Red Eye got to a room lit by some dim torches, and a faint light coming from a magic mirror. Somebody was seated and watching the projection. _"Red Eye burned the American Constitution and fled the scene, and chaos and mayhem ensued everywhere throughout the country. The situation was resolved by a young boy named Jessie Sidney, who shortly after, became…"_

"You certainly are a violent sort." The man watching the MV said. "I'm not sure if I want you visiting my planet."

"That man would have slain an innocent child had I not flown in." Red Eye said, his body shadowed except for the left eye. "I use violence to deliver justice to those corrupt beings. I hoped America would stay a free country, but we will see how this child president fairs. But I do not wish to bring harm to your world. I simply wish to study its magic potential. And I think it is the perfect place for my daughter to meet me."

"I see…" The man—Arlon—stood and faced Red Eye, with his own monocle eye glowing red. "Then I shall comply to your request. I want to see my daughter again, too. I still have mixed feelings about-"

"DARN IT!" A bowl of berries was thrown at Arlon's head. "These are blueberries! And they're ROUND! WE'RE OFF SCHEDULE!" An infant-size creature flew between the two men, facing Arlon. It had an indigo body, a crescent moon head, and a crescent symbol on the chest. "Tonight is a crescent moon! I need a banana! Or a cookie with one bite taken out of it! Half moons, I drink half a cup of grape juice, or a taco. And during eclipse, I eat donuts. Blueberries are for FULL MOONS! ! I'll also accept a plum or a moon pie." He smiled. "Always up for a moon pie. BUT WHAT'M I SUPPOSED TO EAT RIGHT NOOOW?"

"Master Crest, I am positive that the food you choose to eat is irrelevant to the current phase of the moon!" Arlon argued.

"Irrelevant? ! Dude, it's ALWAYS relevant!" Crest threw his arms up. "It's…It's LOGICAL! It's…IT'S…"

"Crest." Red Eye spoke. "You will still lead me to Lunaria like you promised, correct?"

"Oh yeah sure man, whatever floats your boat." Crest said quickly. "We can do it on May 15, that's a full moon. Provided you get me more of-" He rubbed his fingers and glanced at the berries on the floor, "those things."

"May 15 was the date I had in mind, too. That shall be it then."

"Coolness! So uh, you know uh, those uh…?" He continued rubbing his fingers.

"Bananas, yes."

"Neat, well, buh-bye." Crest flew off.

"And on the same day… I want you to bring Wendy and her friends to Lunaria." Red Eye told Arlon.

"To that end, I fear for Master Crest's safety. It is true that my people have long awaited the Young Lord… but there are many prying eyes who would JUMP at the chance to seize him! He is, after all, the Tenth Firstborn."

"Yes…" Red Eye turned away. "The Firstborn are bodies of limitless power. They are only children, but cruel adults seek to capture them, abuse them for their own ends. I detest such adults. If anyone tries to take Crest, I assure you… they will fall by my hands."

* * *

 **Kamabaka is from _One Piece_ , but I made up all the magic Love Kool-Aid random… stuff. So these first few chapters take place within the Art Saga, so there shouldn't be very many, because when we get to the main arc of the Art Saga, I don't wanna pull much attention away from that. But this next chapter is actually connected to the main story's chapters – I won't pull another Gravity Falls gimmick, but Ch. 44 in particular will lead into the next SS chapter. So see you for that. Later!**


	23. Old Legends

**Like I said before, this chapter comes after Chapter 44 of the Main Story, and actually continues from it. So if you don't remember, skim through it if you want. XP But I'll throw in a quick recap just in case.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-23: Old Legends_**

 **DunBroch Kingdom**

After retrieving the Ocarina of Time from the Ancient Ruin, the team of Cheren, Kayla, Nerehc, and Merida returned to DunBroch. Using the ocarina, Nerehc played the Song of Soaring, which Cheren memorized, as it would warp them to the owl statue that he activated in DunBroch long ago. The four kids were encased in a pair of giant wings, which spun around, and within seconds they were whisked to the statue in the middle of the town.

"Wow, it actually worked!" Cheren beamed. MaKayla and Merida were dizzy from the experience.

"What other manner of witchcraft haven't you showed us?" the princess asked.

"So Nerehc, why are you suddenly interested in this Madara person?" Cheren asked, regarding Nerehc's question before they warped.

"You mentioned having confronted Ragaj Gnik." MaKayla noted. "Did he have something to do with it?"

"Yes." Nerehc nodded. "Ragaj showed me visions of some people—I think they were the Thirteen Darknesses. And in one of them, two Japanese guys were having a face-off… and I heard the name 'Madara.' So Merida, how much do you know about him?"

"Only as much as my dad and Macintosh told me." Merida replied as they headed to an alleyway, away from the noisy townspeople. "He was a Japanese warrior that came here from the Land of Fire 200 years ago. Like Macintosh said, thousands of warriors fought him, but he destroyed them all."

"Two hundred years?" Cheren raised a brow. "That's awfully recent. A bit too recent to be a 'legend.'"

"Well, the thing is, _everyone_ was destroyed. No other witnesses lived to tell the tale. But Madara survived and that giant canyon just appeared. Everyone who came to see it believed Madara was responsible."

"So then what happened to him?" Nerehc asked.

"Another Japanese man appeared and chased him away… so the legends say. I can't tell ya any more than that because I don't know."

"Another man…" Nerehc rubbed his chin. "The two men from my vision…"

"What did they even look like?" asked Cheren.

"Well, one of them was wearing a silver headband… It had a symbol like a swirly thing… with a little point."

"Your descriptive powers are sensational." Kayla remarked.

"Hey, I only had a second to look at it!"

"Wait!" Cheren reached in his pocket. "Did the symbol look like this?" He pulled out his Hidden Leaf Headband.

"IT IS!" Nerehc recognized the symbol.

"Oh, yah." Merida remembered. "You use that to turn into a ninja. _Fuh-reakyyyy_."

"I got this headband from the Land of Fire in Japan."

"Then that's where we should go." Nerehc decided. "If Madara is a Darkness…" He looked at the Ocarina of Time in his hand, "then I need to meet him."

Fi jumped out of the Master Sword. _"Master Cheren, based on these words, I conjecture an 80% chance Nerehc intends to use the Ocarina of Time to travel back to a time when Madara was alive. The ocarina does possess the potential to travel through many periods in time. However, in order to set a specific time and date, certain requirements must be fulfilled."_

"What kind of requirements?"

 _"It may suffice you to know that the Master Sword and the Ocarina of Time were created from the same Timeshift Stone. If I could examine an object that has existed since a certain time period, I could trace the object's history and transfer the recorded data to the ocarina. Afterwards, by performing the Song of Time, one would be able to travel to a previous point in time in which that object existed."_

"Like if we found something of Madara's… We would be able to travel back one thousand years in our time." Cheren figured. "Let's return to the present and go back to Sector V. We can rest up and then fly to Japan. If Madara was famous in his own country, there would have to be one or two historical artifacts lying around."

"Well, this adventure was fun while it lasted." Merida sighed. "It was great seein' ya again, Cheren." She smiled and waved. "I'd like to join you, but Ay have NO idea what you're doing, and it's probably too much to explain."

"You have nooooooo idea."

 **Present time; Termina Sector V**

"This is the Ocarina of Time?" Harry Uno held and examined the shiny blue instrument.

"Oooo, so prettyyyy!" Kellie Beatles took it, her eyes sparkly. "Can I give this to my Uncannily Sky Blue Rainbow Monkey?"

"You know, whatever happened to that magic flute thingy you used to have?" Celeste asked.

"I gave it back to the Mask Man after we returned home." Cheren replied. "Nerehc wants to go back in time and find somebody called Madara."

"You're trying to find Madea?!" Thomas exclaimed.

"No, silly, he said 'Madara'!" Kellie giggled. "He was a Japanese warrior from the Land of Fire!"

"You know about him, too?" Nerehc asked.

"Of course! He was my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather!"

"? ! ?" Cheren and Nerehc shared the same aghast expression.

"Aaaaaaaand I'm just kidding." Kellie said after a minute and a half. They were able to unfreeze their faces. "But he is related to my pen-pal from Sector LF, Sarada."

"Really? Then maybe she can help us." Nerehc said. "Fy said we needed certain requirements to go back in time."

"It's pronounced 'Fee.'" Cheren corrected.

"She's a spirit girl who speaks gibberish and whose name is only written. I'll pronounce it however I want."

"So you won't mind if I start pronouncing you 'Neerehc'?"

"Cher-REN? ?"

"I don't…" Harry Uno and the others stared confusedly. "I don't know what they're talking about."

"Never mind." Cheren sighed. "I'm guessing Sector LF is in Land of Fire? How come we didn't meet them during the Majora thing?"

"Well, they are a ninja sector." Melissa said. "Not like we can just show any interdimensional traveler their location. But you're cool now, so don't worry, Cherry."

"Uh he…" Cheren flushed, remembering his awkward moment with her in the Tortuga journey. "Well, as soon as MaKayla's done in the bathroom, we can head on over."

 **Bathroom**

"I thought part of being spiritual was not needing to use the bathroom as much." Kayla said to herself as she washed her hands. "Heh, as if. I need my girl time." She splashed water over her face and washed it. "Gotta stay awake, too. We're starting to find real leads in this quest. I wonder if the Ocarina of Time can-" She opened her eyes and looked up at the mirror.

"Hello." Truman Kirman was behind her.

"HEEEEEY-YAH!" Kayla instinctively kicked back and stomped him in the stomach.

"OOOOOF!" Saliva flew out his mouth.

"What the heck?! I thought this was the girls' room!"

"It is… ack!" He coughed. MaKayla pulled her foot back. "My name's Truman… Nice to meet you."

"Hello, Truman… Why the heck are you creeping on me?"

"I saw you come in here and you… I thought you smelled nice."

". . ." MaKayla inched toward the door. "So, I will just… let you finish in here… and we will never talk about this… ever." And she left.

Truman approached the mirror and stared at his reflection with half-closed eyes. He was completely motionless, like his reflection was just a picture. Then the mirror wobbled like liquid—Truman gasped and backed away. MaKayla climbed out of the mirror… but she held no emotion on her face, and the letters on her shirt were 'AM.' "I will assume I smell bad by that logic. But that's okay."

 **Sector LF; Land of Fire, Japan**

Melissa flew Cheren, Nerehc, Kayla, along with Kellie to Japan. They landed in the forest a few miles away from the Hidden Leaf Village before stepping off the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. "Thanks for driving us, Melissa." Cheren waved.

"My pleasure." She said with a mocking smile. "It's always fun to be the chauffeur to the heroes saving the world."

"Uh…" Cheren felt a tad guilty by that remark. "Well, you could come with us."

"Nah, I'll just guard the ship."

"…Seriously, I'd feel bad if we treated you like a minor-"

"Just come on!" Nerehc grabbed his Positive and pulled him with.

"So where's Sector LF?" Kayla asked as they followed Kellie up a hill. "I don't see any treehouses."

"You don't expect them to have their base out in the open, do you?" Kellie questioned. "They're ninjas! They gotta be _secreeeet_."

"Like Sector GF." Cheren recalled. "Or even Sector JP. Before they… stopped being a spy sector."

Kellie stopped at a tree that was slightly bigger. She knocked the trunk with a special sequence before a hatch opened. They followed her in climbing down a ladder into the dark hideout. They set foot on a floor that they couldn't see, so Cheren used the light of his Master Sword to see. "What is this?" he whispered.

"Hi Sarada, it's me, Kelliiieee!" The girl grinned and waved. "Don't worry, they're my friends!"

They all heard loud _WHISH_ sounds—MaKayla used timebending to freeze the incoming kunai in time, then Cheren slashed them out of the air.

The lights switched on. There was a pale boy with yellow hair and pale green eyes crouched behind a cardboard bush. There was a shadow on the ceiling, and a boy with spiked black hair was peeping out of it with narrowed dark-green eyes – a shadowbender by the look of it. "Shikadai, Inojin, come on out." A black-haired girl with black eyes, red glasses, and a red sleeveless shirt uncovered her cloak that camouflaged her with the floor.

"You knew it was Kellie, why do we always have to set this up?" Shikadai said, dropping from the ceiling. "What a drag…"

"Kon'nichiwa, Sarada-san!" Kellie greeted happily.

"Kon'nichiwa, Kellie-chan." Sarada returned in a more casual tone.

 _"We don't understand them."_ The other three chorused.

"Wait, but I have this!" Cheren put on the Hidden Leaf Headband and magically turned into an adult ninja. "Kon'nichiwa!" He spoke with a deep, cool voice.

"Kellie, who are these people? You know we don't invite strangers to our treehouse."

"I know, but they're kind of on an important mission. See, that's Cheren, who can transform using magical masks, that's his parallel-universe twin Nerehc, and that girl is MaKayla, she can control time. Oh, they're also from a different universe." Kellie explained with a casual grin.

"Can you translate for us, Cheren?" Nerehc asked.

"Yeah, they probably think Kellie's crazy now. Look, I hate to cut to the chase, but Kellie said you could tell us about someone named Madara."

"Madara?" Sarada repeated in surprise. "Why do you want to know about Madara?"

"It's just important to us, alright?"

"You can trust him, Sarada." Kellie promised. "I know he looks like a creepy ninja who can turn into a boy, but he helped us save the world a few months ago!"

"Oh right, when the moon was falling." Inojin said tonelessly, drawing an ink picture on his scroll. "Here's what I thought it would look like." The picture depicted the moon, with its giant face, munching the Earth like a cookie.

"Well, Madara was my ancestor." Sarada explained. "He was a patriarch of the Uchiha Clan that lived a thousand years ago."

"Before he came back to life 20 years ago and tried to kill everyone." Shikadai said in a laid back fashion.

"Twenty years ago?" Cheren was familiar with that time era. "That's… something worth discussing."

"I don't really understand it." Sarada continued. "I mean, according to our recent history, Madara came back to life, and he fought the hero of our village, Naruto. Madara was destroyed, but then, all of a sudden, Naruto just… disappeared. No one knows how it happened or why. But Naruto earned the title of 'Hokage' in honor of his memory. _Pretty stupid if you ask me_."

"If he's your ancestor, then you must have something that belonged to him." Nerehc imputed. Cheren translated this to Japanese.

"Well, she has a ton of swords in her room." Shikadai smirked, gesturing back with his thumb. "And there's a rusty-looking one hanging on the wall."

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SNEAK IN MY ROOM!" Sarada flustered.

"Wasn't me." The boy sunk into his shadow.

"I think he does this." Inojin drew a picture of Sarada changing clothes and Shikadai peeping from a shadow.

"Ugh! Yes, I do have an old sword, and I think it did belong to Madara. If you wanna see it, then by all means, come along."

Sarada led them all to her room, where the walls were lined with all types of swords. She showed them to one hung on a plaque on the wall, a rusty-looking ninjatō. Fi leapt out of Ninja Cheren's shuriken – scaring the Sector LF members. _"Master Cheren, after a thorough three-second analysis, I have determined that this sword is approximately 1300 years old. By transmitting the data to the Ocarina of Time, you will be able to travel back to any date within those 1300 years. Also, by playing the Song of Time backwards, you can return to the present."_

Cheren took off the Ninja Headband and turned back into a kid. "And we have to play the Song of Time, right? I think it went like-" He took the ocarina back from Nerehc and played— _HEEEEEEEEE!_ Everyone clamped their ears shut.

Nerehc swiped it back. "Just hum the tune and I'LL play it!"

"Wait a second, just what are you doing exactly?" Sarada asked.

"They wanna go back in time and meet Madara!" Kellie answered

"You can seriously do that? !" Shikadai exclaimed.

"How do I pinpoint exactly where I want to go in time?" Nerehc asked. "I mean, WHEN I want to go…"

 _"If you have a specific date in mind, Master Cheren's Negative, I may telepathically affirm the date to the ocarina."_ Fi said.

"You can? Hmm… Then I want to go back 1,050 years. Just to see what happens."

"You're going by yourself?" MaKayla asked.

"Well, you're a timebender, so in case I don't come back soon, you can probably help do something. For now, I wanna try and meet Madara myself. So, how does the song go?"

Cheren sighed, still not sure about this plan. "Like this:"

Nerehc mimicked the notes on the ocarina. _Doo-dooooo, doo-doo-dooooo, doo do-do-DO-do, doo-doo-doo-doo, do-do-doooo…_

 _Oooaa-ooooo-aaa-oooa-oooo…_ Fi hummed the song with her majestic voice as Nerehc played it consistently. A column of blue light encased Nerehc and made a mystic whirring sound, growing brighter as the others covered their eyes. Nerehc found himself falling into a white abyss of clocks, going faster as the years passed.

 **In a forest…**

The blue spire of light released Nerehc in a forest. It was sunny, and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves. Nerehc heard a noise coming from up a hill, so he walked up to investigate. Nerehc peeked over the top of the hill, viewing the bloodstained battlefield where two armies of ninjas killed each other left and right.

Somebody snuck up from behind Nerehc with a sword drawn. His sandaled feet scurried across the grass, footsteps drowned out by the screaming armies. When he was going to stab Nerehc in the back, Ghirahim popped out of the Devil's Sword and countered with his own blade. "HUAH!" Ghira slashed, and the assaulter jumped back. He was a boy about Nerehc's height, black spiked hair and dark eyes, wearing a dark blue robe with a white sash. "You drop your guard way too much lately." Ghirahim smirked.

Nerehc grabbed his sword and raised it against the kid. The boy ran up to swing his sword, but Nerehc fought back, and his superior sword knocked the kid's away. The boy narrowed his eyes at the strange kid and his diamond-skin accomplice. "…Anatahadare?"

Nerehc felt like he got shot in the brain. "DAAAAH I DON'T KNOW JAPANEEEESE!" He gripped his head and flailed frantically. "Cheren's been translating all this time, now it all sounds like Gobbledegook to me, I'm gonna look like such a stupid head in this damn feudal Japan period!"

"Master Nerehc, I speak Japanese." Ghirahim said.

"Ya do?" Nerehc stopped instantly.

Ghirahim turned to the boy and spoke in Japanese: "Greetings, I am Demon Lord Ghirahim. This is my master, the Demon Prince Nerehc. We possess dark powers and the ability to create an age of torment and everlasting doom."

". . . . AAAAAAHHHH!" The boy dashed away with his arms raised. Ghirahim splorped over and grabbed him by the shirt, raising him. "Not a good opening line?"

"Hey, calm down!" Nerehc shouted, standing in front of the kid. "Listen, we're looking for someone named Madara. Know anyone like that?"

After Ghirahim translated, the boy looked at him curiously. "Madara?"

"Yes, Madara. Familiar?"

He pointed at himself. "I'm Madara."

"You?"

Ghirahim set the kid down. "Uchiha Madara."

"…" Nerehc stared at him for a minute. "You can't really be one of the Thirteen Darknesses. You're just a kid."

"So are you." Ghirahim remarked. "Everyone is born a child, Master. It doesn't mean they can't grow into demons."

"The only thing demonic about him is his hairdo. You swing your sword like an old lady." He snapped at Madara.

"I'll have you know my grandma killed hundreds with that blade alone!" Madara retorted. "Now what's your business here! Are you really demons?"

"Yeah, kind of. Humanity is really messed up in the future." Nerehc replied casually.

Madara blinked. "The future?"

"Yep. We're time-travelers."

"…How did you say you knew my name exactly?"

"Well, you're kind of famous in the future. You… Why is he famous again?"

"You blow up a canyon." Ghirahim said. "Heh, pretty famous if you ask me."

"Why did you come here to meet me?" asked Madara.

"Well, we-… er…" Nerehc wondered if it was safe to tell him about the prophecy. "Er, we wanted… to learn more about you."

"What do you want to learn about me? You just said I was famous."

"Yes, but I don't know very much about you."

"Then HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT ME? !"

"YOU BLEW UP A CANYON! !"

"ENOUGH!" Ghirahim shouted. "It's bad enough being your two-way translator, but I won't be the consolidate for your ARGUMENT!"

"Sorry, sorry! Ugh…" Nerehc pinched his temples. "I can't focus with all this yelling going on. Do you know someplace else we can talk?"

Madara glared in the direction of the battle, then faced further in the forest. "This way." He went to get his sword before leading them.

"Those two armies are the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan." Madara explained as they arrived at a river. "My dad is the head of the Uchiha Clan. I don't even remember why we're fighting." He picked up a rock and chucked it at the river, resulting in a splash. Nerehc thought he intended to skip the stone. "If you're from the future, you must know how this battle ends."

"Ehh… Not really." Nerehc said sheepishly.

Madara looked at him suspiciously. "You're a weird time-traveler. Where in the future did you say you were from?"

"The correct terminology would be 'WHEN am I from.'"

"HAH HA HA HA, HAH HA HA HA!" Madara clasped his chest. "That is the funniest thing I EVER heard!"

"I know, right?" Nerehc chuckled. "Ahh, in the past, everything is original."

"Ha ha ha!…" Madara calmed down and spoke more seriously, "So, what is the future like? You said humanity was messed up."

"Oh yeah, oh ye…" Nerehc waved a hand in the air, collecting his thoughts as though his mind fogged for a second. "Like, humans started getting with demons and having human kids with dark powers, and I think this angel hooks up with this half-demon kid – even though he looks nothing _like_ a demon, it's pre-tty fun-ny!" He started chuckling.

"? ?" Madara was baffled. "Humans, demons, and angels… live together?"

"Um… _sort_ of? There're also mermaids, aliens, and these little chipmunk guys that live in the grass." Madara looked at the ground, possibly intending to spot these 'chipmunk' things.

He looked back up at Nerehc. "Would you show me this future?"

"Huh? Um… I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do that."

"Yet, you're allowed to come back to the past and talk to me?"

"Good point."

"Master, may I have a word with you?" Ghirahim requested.

"Sure… Excuse us, Madara?" Nerehc said awkwardly. The Japanese boy simply watched as the two strangers walked a few feet away. He couldn't eavesdrop on their English conversation, anyway.

"Ghirahim, if you're gonna complain about being our translator, I don't wanna hear it."

"I'm bored out of my mind, Master! You're not getting anywhere with this brat! I hoped for at least an action stage by now. If you're not going to mention the prophecy to him, how do you plan to find out if he is one of the Thirteen Darknesses?"

"He might not even know what I'm talking about if I mentioned that! Based on Ydnic and Ikuyim's stories, Davy Jones and Yellow Diamond didn't seem like they knew anything about the prophecy. They just read some Gibberish Pyramid and… 'awakened', I'm assuming?"

"So, ask him if he's seen any such pyramid."

"I will, but we can't just leave it like that. We need to try to learn more about this. You remember how Medusa acted back on Moonbase. She really doesn't seem to know what's going to happen, she might not even understand why the Darknesses were chosen."

"Davy Jones and Yellow Diamond were evil beings who did evil things in the past. The Darknesses may bear similar fates. This Madara boy is no different."

Nerehc faced the boy in question. "…But what's the source of his darkness? I wonder…" He approached Madara again.

"Stop playing games with me, Stranger." Madara stated. "I'm starting to have doubts about you. Why did you really come here? Where are you really from? Tell me the truth."

"…" Nerehc was silent for a second. "The truth is I'm from a really hectic future. It's so hectic that I wonder how it got the way it was. It makes me wonder what the past was like. …I may not know what you do in the future, but the fact is, you become a legend, Madara. So I want to ask you… is there something that you want more than anything else in the world?"

"…You said you were a demon." Madara turned away. "A demon wouldn't understand." He ran off with wind-like speed.

"HEY!" Nerehc kicked on his Rocket Skies and raced after him, Ghirahim keeping up on his own swift feet. They ran into a deeper, thicker part of the forest where the sun could only poke through in little rays. Nerehc kept his eye on the spike-haired boy—he halted immediately when Madara whipped around and held his sword up.

"The battle hasn't come this far, yet." Madara said with a glare. "This forest is where the spirits live… Any demon who enters here will drown in their light. Let's see if you can get through." He ran forth once again.

"Man, you're annoying." Nerehc held his sword up, summoning Ghirahim back inside. (Play "Sacred Grove" from _Zelda: Twilight Princess_.)

 _Stage B-19: Lost Woods_

 _Mission: Follow Madara._

Nerehc chased Madara through a straight and narrow path—Madara turned a sudden left path, but Nerehc kept after. He jumped up a set of tree branches, which would allow him to grab a zipline vine that stretched leftward and set him on an upper path. This route was narrow, and would turn into an abyss with a path on either wall to go across. Nerehc jumped on the left path as did Madara, and he would hit a mushroom that sprung him down right. Nerehc landed on a rail and grinded over the abyss, but when it was about to slope down, Madara jumped on an upper rail that just appeared, so Nerehc followed.

The rail sloped up right and set them on a snaky path between close walls, in which Nerehc lost sight of Madara, but this was no problem on the linear path. The forest became foggy, and Nerehc inevitably lost his lead at a fork in the road. Both routes had bushes, and since one path's bush was waving, he assumed Madara took that way and followed it. He came to a three-way fork, where one of the paths had a stick snapped in two, so he took that way. Another three-way: the middle road had a torn bush—but the road on its right had a cloud of fog that seemed to be reforming. Madara likely tried to trick Nerehc into taking the middle route, but Nerehc took the right.

The fog cleared as Nerehc came to a cliff with two vines. He saw Madara swimming in the pond below, so Nerehc grabbed the right vine and swung after him. He landed on a shore, chased Madara through a narrow path, and then had to Wall Jump across a chasm. He avoided the steam that erupted out of holes in the sides, maneuvered up, and followed Madara through a hole on the right. The forest became more wide and open as Nerehc skied around trees and jumped logs and holes. Madara listed leftward, then right, grabbed a vine to swing across a pit, while Nerehc had to glide across with jetshoes. Madara jumped up some platforms that led up to a cliff, and Nerehc almost missed seeing him jump to a lower, hidden platform on the right, leading to a secret path within the wall. Nerehc bypassed a garden that had a large blue cube with a depiction of the sun shining rays down below. He headed through another clearing of trees. (End song.)

Madara had finally decided to stop, glaring at Nerehc as the latter caught his breath. "Well, look at that." Nerehc panted as Ghirahim came out to translate him. "I didn't drown in any holy spirit light… huff… at all! Now, I asked you a question! What do you want more than anything else?!"

"…" Madara turned around. Nerehc realized they were standing on top of a cliff, hundreds of feet above a great forest valley. "All my father wants to do is destroy the Senju Clan." He stated. "And the Senju Clan merely wants to destroy us. Both of us have grown to hate each other… it's how we were raised. What I want to do is put an end to hatred." Madara reached forward and pretended to clasp the valley. "I want a new world without conflict, without destruction or spite… I want a world of peace and kindness."

"…" Nerehc stood beside him. He held up his right hand to view the Triforce of Power mark. "I want that kind of world, too."

"You do?" Madara faced him. "I thought you were a demon."

Nerehc's right hand lit with a purple flame that surprised Madara. "I never asked to be born as a demon… I never wanted darkness inside of me. But the world I live in is filled with darkness. I hate it. I wanted to make a world where we all loved each other. I didn't want people to view me as a demon, I didn't want to follow a demon's instincts and thrive on darkness. I wanted to… be different."

"And… where did that lead?" asked Madara.

"…" Nerehc faced him and smiled. "It led me on the right path. Me and all of my friends."

"Your friends?"

"Yes. Madara, I'm not saying it's possible to destroy hatred. But it isn't the only path you can follow. If you want a more peaceful world, then work to achieve it. Then after you're gone, people can follow your example."

"Cough, you're completely influencing the past." Ghirahim commented.

"Ah, nothing's gonna happen that hasn't already will happen."

Madara was silent. "…I was always afraid there would be no one who shared my feelings."

"Well, you're not alone anymore." Nerehc smirked.

"…Would you stay here and help me?"

"I… kinda need to get back home." He blushed. "But don't worry. I'm sure other people will share your vision. You just have to look around. Hopefully, they will speak the same language."

"He he…" Madara grinned.

The three entered the forest again and stopped to look at the blue cube with the sun ray depiction. "I've been through this wood several times and always wondered what this stone was. It looks nothing like the surrounding ruins."

Nerehc picked up the Ocarina of Time. He looked between it and the cube. "Master, play the Song of Time." Ghirahim whispered. "I recognize this stone…"

Nerehc glanced at his servant before putting the ocarina to his mouth. He played the Song of Time as he memorized. The cube vanished in a spire of blue light. In its place stood a stone pyramid with foreign writing and an eye on its tip. Nerehc gasped, recognizing such a pyramid from Ydnic and Ikuyim's stories. And already, Madara felt a strange attraction to it, gazing at the ruin as he approached.

 _Darkness is hatred. To hate the darkness is to feed it. Allow it to feed you in return._

A dark aura appeared around the pyramid. The eye glowed and cast a beam at Madara's forehead. The darkness was transferred to his body, his eyes glowing. After seconds, it stopped.

 **Madara Uchiha awakened as a _DARKNESS_. Only 9 more to go.**

Nerehc approached him cautiously. …Madara turned: his black eyes were read circles that had three pointed swirls surrounding the pupil. "Gyah!" Nerehc flinched. "Did you… break a blood vessel?"

"No, stupid. This is the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan. I guess it's finally awakened."

"Ew, freaky… WAIT, you speak English?!"

"Oh? I guess I do now. It must have been watching your mouth movements all this time. The Sharingan allows me to copy and mimic other peoples' abilities. So, English is this language, huh?"

"Yep!" Nerehc grinned. "It's the dominant language in the future, for the most part!"

Madara looked away. "I will make note of that…"

"Alright, if you know the way back, then I guess it's okay for me to return to my time. Good luck on your dream, Madara."

"Yes." He nodded. "Good-bye, Nerehc… and thanks."

"Heh." Nerehc grinned. With that, he played the Song of Time backwards. A spire of light appeared to return him and Ghirahim to the present.

"…I blow up a canyon?" Madara repeated to himself. "Sounds pretty awesome."

Madara returned to the river. He picked up three stones and failed to skip any of them across. Then it seemed like one of the stones came back. Madara looked up in shock. There was a boy with short black hair on the other side. He grinned at being able to make it across, while Madara glared at him.

 **Present; Sector LF**

The others watched as Nerehc rematerialized. Thanks to his sunglasses, the light didn't affect him too much. "How long was I gone?"

"About five minutes." Sarada replied.

Nerehc whipped at her. "So you know English, too!"

"Heheh, she kinda revealed it after you left." Cheren blushed. "Wait, what do you mean 'too'?"

"I met Madara."

"You did? !" Sarada exclaimed.

"What was he like?" asked MaKayla.

"I met his child self, actually. And I think he is one of the Thirteen Darknesses. But there was nothing about him that seemed… evil. Sarada, what did Madara do that was so bad?"

Sarada looked away, trying to remember and piece together the story. "His goal was to end world conflict. That's what my mom told me. But… he got a little carried away."

They listened to her story for the next hour.

 **The S.C.A.M.P.E.R.**

The operatives left Sector LF, watching the Hidden Leaf grow smaller as they took off in Melissa's S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. "So you saw the pyramid with your own eyes." MaKayla said. "The same one that was in Ford's journal. The one Kisuke had drawn in the other dimension."

"What are you talking about?" Nerehc asked.

"Nerehc, I think we have an idea for how to find the remaining Darknesses. And the Ocarina of Time may be the key."

"But I still don't understand. I thought the Darknesses were supposed to be evil. Dark-hearted or something."

"Ehh, I dunno." Kellie replied. "Madara _did_ go a little cuckoo."

"But he wasn't like that when I met him. He had a good intention, he had a good vision for a future. That pyramid must have influenced him or something! If I didn't go back and help him find it-!" Nerehc clenched his teeth in anger.

"It doesn't matter!" MaKayla insisted. "It was his fate to find the pyramid one way or another, and it was probably your fate to lead him to it. Madara is a Darkness, and now we're one step closer to finding all the answers."

"But it isn't fair! Madara never had an evil heart. Why did the prophecy choose him? Why are any of these people chosen, what sets them apart from others?!"

"Nerehc, take it easy!" Cheren yelled. "I'm sure there's a reason behind everything. And sooner or later, we'll know what it is."

"I know that! It's just… if Madara can turn that way while following his dream… what if it happens to me?" He looked down at the floor. "What if I give in to my darkness…"

He looked up when Cheren touched his shoulder. "I'll bring you back to the light. I promise."

"…" Nerehc smirked. "Don't get all touchy-feely, I don't wanna become one of your girlfriends."

"Shut up." Cheren chuckled, smacking Nerehc in the chest before going to sit down.

"Get a room, you boys." Melissa joked, earning laughs from the other girls.

Nerehc spared a chuckle before thinking to himself: _I never told Madara my name… How did he know it at the end? Did his Eye Powers do that, too?_

 **Egypt**

At the same time as their adventure to Japan, AlyakAm had stolen a small R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R. from Sector V and used it to take Truman to Egypt. She parked the flying racecar outside a pyramid, which had a pathway of torches leading up to the entrance, giving the ground a red glow under the night sky. AlyakAm and Truman climbed out of the car. The former examined the stone statue of a spike-headed figure above the entrance. "This must be the tomb Medusa described. …" She looked at Truman. "You are surprisingly cooperative."

"I seem to… remember this place…" Truman said, his blue eyes blank. "But from where exactly?…"

"Medusa said that you might. There is something in this temple that belongs to you. I'm here to take you to find it."

"But what is this temple?"

AlyakAm stared at the spike-headed statue for a minute. "Medusa called it the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh." She led Truman inside. (Play "Dry Dry Ruins" from _Paper Mario_.)

 _Stage B-20: Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh_

 _Mission: Find the tomb's treasure._

The two walked down a small staircase into the first room of the pyramid. The wall was cracked, and there was a Bomb Flower that could be used to destroy it. However, given the fragile appearance of the room, the flower could make the ceiling cave in. There was an empty coffin lain in a corner, so Alyak and Truman carried it over beside the cracked wall and set it on its front. AlyakAm plucked the Bomb Flower and tossed it under the coffin, which contained the full force of the explosion, but still caused the wall to collapse.

They went down a couple more stairs into a wider room. AlyakAm stepped on a switch in the center—two dozen giant beetles fell from the ceiling upside-down. Three of them had glowing bellies. _"Find the correct ones, or be PURGED."_ A dark voice hissed. The beetles flipped right-side-up and started skittering everywhere. Alyak noticed one of the shiny-bellied ones and ran to kick it. Truman kicked another beetle—the spiked ceiling lowered partway. Alyak found another shiny-belly, then kicked one which she thought was shiny, but this wrong move lowered the spike ceiling. The ceiling lowered slowly, so the two panicked. Truman managed to kick the third shiny-belly. AlyakAm grabbed him and dashed to the open door before the ceiling squished them.

The next room was a mazelike path over a dark pit. There were statues with swords placed around the maze. _"Only those who show respect may enter. All others will be eaten by the darkness."_

"If this were the Japanese version, it would be bloody spike pit." AlyakAm said. "This riddle is unfamiliar to me."

"It is to me." Truman said. "Look at the statues. Their left foot is placed forward. We move like this." He put his left foot forward and kept it like so as he moved forward. AlyakAm tried to walk normally—one of the statues sliced at her, she jumped back with a start.

"This pains my pride to great extent." Alyak said as she moved with the left foot forward. One of the paths curved backward, but would curve again back in the right direction. However, Truman hit a switch on the curve-back: the spiked ceiling slowly began to lower down. "Egyptians need to come up with some original traps." The two moved faster in this left foot posture. While Truman managed to escape through the door, AlyakAm was falling behind. She made a mad dash, dodged the statues' swords, and made it out.

They stood atop a ledge and viewed down a dark shaft with a ladder leading down. AlyakAm picked up the lone torch and climbed down first. They set foot on a ledge, then had to climb down another ladder. Once under the ledge, a swarm of bats awakened and tried to nip at the torch-holding girl. AlyakAm swung her torch to scare them away, but she accidentally dropped it on the ledge below. "Well, we were going that way, anyway." She said as the bats left her alone.

"We might want to get there fast!" Truman exclaimed. Small, poisonous beetles were crawling down the ladder. Truman just decided to drop down, pushing Alyak under his butt as they hit the floor.

"Uck!" She pushed him off. "I would sooner have let you be the snack. …?" The torch landed on a trail of powder, which burned like a fuse and exploded against a pile, blowing the wall open. The next room consisted of red, green, and blue tiles, with no real organization, and two normal floors were on the left and right. _Doo-doot-doot-doooot!_ Four tiles blinked and made a song. AlyakAm skipped across these tiles to the left floor, and pulled a lever on it.

Five tiles made a rhythmic path to the right foothold, where AlyakAm could pull another lever. Seven tiles made a much quicker rhythm, giving Alyak little time to memorize. She slipped on the fourth tile, and all the tiles immediately gave way. "I GOT YOU!" Truman grabbed Alyak and leaped to the left foothold. "Are you okay?"

AlyakAm panted, feeling her heart race. "I didn't think… I could still feel emotions…"

"It'll be all right. Just stay focused."

"At least it's a change from the spike ceiling." The tiles floated back up in their places. The puzzle started over, so AlyakAm had to do it again. She did the third pattern accurately and caused the door to open. The next room was wide and box-like. A chasm took up most of the floor and many rows of swingable handles took up the left wall. _"The Pharaoh loves to watch performers… eh, perform. If he is pleased, he will allow you further into his domain."_

There was an image on the right wall that looked like a Connect the Dots. AlyakAm knew these represented the correct order of handles. She jumped to grab the first one, swung to the one above it, jumped forward, forward once more, dropped to a low handle, back to one behind, swung over the forward one to grab the one after it, then had to diagonal-swing up-right to grab the last handle. The part in the middle of the intersecting wall opened like a drawbridge. AlyakAm grabbed the ledge on this wall to climb over to it, and Truman had to swing the handles to get to her. (He didn't have to repeat the puzzle.)

They entered a long, wide passage where a dark abyss loomed down below, with a suspended bridge leading across. Coffins were standing up along the railing, and their lids would topple over if the kids stepped in front. Alyak and Truman dashed down the path, hearing coffin lids fall one after the other, but halted at a dead end of the bridge. When they turned around, mummies, snakes, and Dark Chuchus came out of the coffins. There was a switch at the start of this path, and a ray of light shining beside it.

Truman picked up one of the torches and set fire to the mummies while AlyakAm lured the Dark Chus over to the light ray. The light turned the Dark Chus into stone, making them heavy enough to hold down the switch. A bridge stretched from the dead end to the next part of the path. Alyak and Truman quickly hurried across before the Chuchu could get off the switch. The bridge brought them to a more open floor with four square tables, and rectangular tables lined up on the walls that had several items.

 _"In order to reach the Pharaoh's Tomb, you must feed his vassals. For their first meal, they order five crawlies and a thirst-quencher the color of tears."_

There was a bowl of water and some cups on the table, and Truman noticed spiders crawling around the floor. He caught five spiders and set them on a table, along with a cup of water. Some mummies came up and started eating their meal. _"Very good. Now they desire two samples of fresh meat, with five punctured squares and four preborn lives."_ The kids grabbed two fish from bowls, four plant seeds, and five small cheese crackers (which had holes in their centers). They set them on the second table so mummies could eat.

 _"For dinner, they wish for a destructive force, mixed with tiny strings grown from meat."_ The dark voice said. They got a bomb, then AlyakAm used a pair of scissors to cut off some of Truman's hair, serving both items to the third table. _"And finally, for dessert, they wish for liquid the color of soil, with five throat-piercing blades and four sources of beauty."_ The items required were a glass of soda, five darts, and four lipsticks.

 _"The vassals are satisfied with their meals, and their bellies full for another five thousand years. You may enter the Pharaoh's Tomb. But make sure to wipe your shoes on the mat. We only just polished."_ The final door opened, a stairway leading them down a corridor. They were in the Pharaoh's Tomb. (End song.)

The golden tomb atop the stairs had what looked like purple spiked hair on its head. The face of the tomb had narrowed eyes. There was a small plate above the tomb with Egyptian symbols neither of them knew. On the platform before the tomb sat a stone pyramid with writing that wasn't Egyptian. On top of that pyramid was a golden triangle with an eye, encased in a ring that had five points dangling from it.

Truman stepped up the stairs and gazed at the treasure. It glowed, and the eye appeared to stare at him. Truman climbed the pyramid and took the ringed treasure off, exposing the eye that was engraved on the stone's tip. Truman climbed down and held the ring to face the writing. The treasure's mystical glow gave him the ability to read it.

 _We have awaited your return, O Dark One. The vessel you now possess need only be temporary. Let your conscience awaken, and let your destiny be realized._

A dark aura appeared around the stone, and as we have seen previously, it flew into Truman's body. His expression was still blank.

 **Um… huh? I don't understand what's going on, but it looks like Truman Kirman awakened as a _Darkness_. Only 8 to go, I guess.**

"Do you… feel any different?" AlyakAm asked.

"…" He turned to face her. "I feel like I have the _worst_ insomnia you can ever imagine."

 **Sector V Treehouse**

Night had fallen by the time AlyakAm and Truman returned. "Your team is probably concerned for your absence." Alyak figured. "It's no concern to let myself be noticed now. So let us deliver the good news."

In the living room, Sector V and Cheren's trio were gathered like she expected. They were conversing over Truman's absence, with Melissa looking the most concerned. The girl in question looked back and saw them. "THERE'S Truman! He's with MaKayla- eh, wait a sec…" She turned back around, as MaKayla was clearly with Cheren and Nerehc.

"ALYAKAM!" An enraged Nerehc rushed over and held his sword up to her. "I thought you were in Moonbase, how did you escape?!"

"Nerehc, what's wrong?" MaKayla asked, surprised at his outburst. "Is she my Negative?"

"Medusa ordered them to free me." AlyakAm stated. "She used the Dimensional Traveler designed by the Nainozama to send me here. My work is done, so you may take me back in your custody."

"What work?! What did Medusa tell you to do?"

"She is doing as she promised in your deal. The prophecy is progressing ever so smoothly. I just needed this child's assistance to accomplish the mission."

Nerehc swerved behind and grabbed her arms. "It's time to go back home. Clearly, I've been away too long."

"Truman, are you okay?" Melissa put an arm around her friend, noting his unbalanced posture. "What did she make you do?"

"I think a beetle crawled up my pants… Would either of you mind checking for-"

"NOT IT!" Melissa pushed him to Kellie.

"I hate to cut this reunion short, but you know home drama." Cheren said to Sector V. "Thanks for helping us, Sector Termina."

"Any day of the week, Sector Hyrule!" Harry grinned. "Good luck with your 'Twenty Keys' and fighting demons and… whatnot."

"Sure, man." Cheren blushed. "Call me if any more moons fall, you know where the portal is."

"We'll miss you most of all, Melissa!" Kayla waved 'bye' as they left the treehouse. "You were the biggest help!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Lissa waved halfheartedly and rolled her eyes.

* * *

 **Madara and Sector LF are from _Naruto_ , and if you remember _Down in the Negaverse_ , we actually met Sector LF's Negatives. So yeah, compared to the Lights, the Darknesses are easy to rack up. Well, until next time, enjoy an Atbash Cipher.**

 **…**

 ** _DSZG'H DRGS YIFXV ZODZBH SZERMT NLMHGVI XSROWIVM?_**


	24. When They Are Young

**This may be the last Side Stories chapter within the Art Saga. Soon, we'll get into the main plot of Tenth Firstborn. (P.S., if you haven't read _Sector JP_ , beware of spoilers in this chapter.)**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-24: When They Are Young_**

 **DNK Moonbase**

AlyakAm was locked back in her cell alongside Egroeg after she and Nerehc returned to Moonbase. "We don't have any idea how she escaped, Master Nerehc." Ininap said in her nervous tone. "We looked everywhere, we really did, b-but-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, take it easy, Stutters. It sounds like Medusa had something to do with it."

"A dark portal, to be precise." AlyakAm confirmed. "This petty fortress of scrap is nothing to even the simplest of a god's abilities."

"And what were you doing with that boy? Were you looking for one of the Thirteen Darknesses?"

"Yes, and I can safely assure you, you now have less of the quest to worry about."

"Then who was the Darkness in question?"

"Medusa says you don't need to know that, yet."

"Of course we don't. Ininap, I'm going back to the Posiverse. Cheren and Kayla said they might know where to look next. Let everyone know to watch out for Medusa." He began to walk away. "I should've expected her to look for loopholes in this deal…"

"Hm hm hm." AlyakAm chuckled.

Ininap turned to her curiously. "Eh he… What's so funny?"

"Nerehc is concerned for what conniving tricks Medusa has up her sleeve regarding this grand plan. He, like Medusa herself, is deceived into believing the latter is the mastermind. Her position is no greater than that of any of our father's 'associates.'"

"She is to our father what I am to AlyakAm." Egroeg commented. "Even I am smart enough to know this."

Ininap approached them. "You two know more about this prophecy than any of us, don't ya? Yer father knows… somehow, someway…"

"You are inferring what exactly?" AlyakAm asked.

"You know important answers." Ininap spoke seriously. "You can be a real big help to us. You can help us be prepared. You can help us save everyone."

"You are mistaken. There is no amount of preparing you could do and no way to save everyone. You can never comprehend what is to come."

"And _you_ can? Are you two all right with what's going to happen? It won't affect you in any way?"

"…" Alyak took a minute to respond. "It doesn't matter if we are or not. And a weak person like you would only cower in a closet. If I decided to tell you, you would utterly give up and give in."

"I wouldn't. Not on my own… anyway…" Ininap turned away. "Not unless Nerehc does. I would follow where he thinks we should go. If he thought it was a losing battle… I would agree. If he thought we could win… I would let him use me as a shield if it would help him get there."

"You haven't a single speck of pride in your veins." Egroeg said. "What a pity. …" Alyak was staring at him. "What? I have more than she does."

"I'm not very smart _or_ strong." Ininap stated. "Until I learn how to be… I'll trust Nerehc to guide me. Maybe you two should, too. Because it sounds like… you aren't sure what to do, either." She left the room.

 **Grayson Household**

During a boring afternoon on a sunny day, Lee Andrew lay figuratively dead on the living room couch, lazily swaying his foot as his eyes leaned in the direction of the fireplace. His sister, Leanne came in and saw that his position did not change. "Wouldn't you rather be trying to build an upgraded 4x4 weapon?"

"Wouldn't you rather be acting like a snob at _Guitar Hero_?" the boy retorted.

"Lee, just because Wendy promised to _magically_ spawn out of the fireplace to meet you, do you have to spend every waking moment waiting for her?"

"It's not like we got any fun missions. I thought we would be fighting swarms of bad guys from the Government or these Gnik people, but we're still just getting crappy Brotherhooders. I wish I could've gone to Magic World with Wendy."

"Just get up once in a while so you don't turn into a potato sack. Plus, you aren't doing her any favors. Once Haruka hears how much you're fixated on Wendy, she'll turn her into blueberry soup." On that note, Leanne left.

Lee passed off the conversation and continued waiting. After 10 more minutes, an emerald fire lit in the place. Lee got to his feet and gazed with eager blue eyes. "Uh!" Wendy popped out on her front. "So that's what happens if the other side is smaller than the first." Carla came beside her as Wendy looked up. Her face beamed. "Lee!"

"Wendy!" Lee exclaimed.

"Child, your feet are still in the fire." Carla said.

"NOIDON'TWANNALOSEMYFEET!" Wendy immediately scrambled out and hit the couch, toppling it over with her legs propped up. _"I'm okay."_

 **Grass hill**

Lee and Wendy lay on the breezy hill and watched the clouds drift by. It was the same hill where they met before, when Lee tried to help Wendy with her powers. That day was only three months ago, but it felt like years to both of them. The peaceful atmosphere put Carla into slumber on Wendy's chest, leaving her and Lee to talk in private. "I still can't believe how far I've come." Wendy said. "Mr. Facilier taught me so much in just three months. I know magic, and Dragon Style, and I haven't even started my first year at Hogwarts."

"I sure feel jealous." Lee replied casually. "You're going on way cooler adventures than my team is."

"Mr. Facilier told me you guys were on a quest, too. The Seven Lights?"

"No, everyone else is on that quest. It usually matters if we have a Chosen One in our sector, which we don't. At least not at the moment. It feels like, until we actually know, the whole thing is random."

"So the Chosen Ones are the only ones who matter?"

"That's what it feels like. Take a look at Cheren, for instance, his family has a long record of always being Chosen. I guess if you're lucky enough to be friends with a Chosen One, you have a shot at making the books. But I can never see a reason to try and help out with this quest unless we were actually part of it."

"I can see how you would feel that way. But when you think about it, it doesn't make you much different from everyone else. There are billions of people in the world, and only seven Seven Lights. Imagine all the people who aren't concerned with this quest. They're probably worried about accomplishing something else. Like me." Wendy held up her Lamia Scale and softly rubbed it. "All I want to do is meet my family, make a lot of friends, and learn who I really am. And I guess somewhere else in the world, there are other people just like that. The world is a much bigger place than most people think."

"I guess you're right there." Lee rolled on his side. "But when the Seven Lights and Eight Firstborn Guardians happen to be people you know pretty well, it makes the world feel smaller. Even in the Kids Next Door, we have thousands of sectors, but there's only a few worth mentioning. That's why we have the Top 10 list. And MY sector wouldn't have gotten 10th Place back if Sector DR didn't turn evil. It makes me wonder if Cheren even remembers to check up on every little sector."

"He's the Supreme Leader, isn't he? Dr. Facilier once told me that Cheren is like… everyone's friend."

"Yeah, I guess he's pretty nice, to a fault. But you should've seen him when he first became leader, he was getting torn up. Like, back then he was trying to grant everybody's wishes like Jirachi. He got a lot of people to like him, but I can't believe that he could manage the _entire_ KND the same way. If you want my advice, Wendy, don't make too many friends, because all those friends are gonna want things from you. Especially if you run a worldwide organization."

"I don't think I need to worry about that…" Wendy said sorrowfully.

"Hey, do you wanna join my family for dinner tonight?" Lee asked, sitting up. "We can introduce them to your weird cat."

"Don't call her weird." Wendy sat up, too.

"Alright, sorry. So, you wanna come?"

"Sure." She smiled. "I mean, if Mr. Facilier thinks it's okay."

"Cool, can't wait! Heh, if you're lucky, you'll get to see Diwata turn into a werewolf with us." Lee snickered.

"What do you mean?"

"Almost every night that wasn't cloudy, she lays outside and stares at the moon. I'm not sure if she's a werewolf or a Nine-Tailed Fox, but it creeps us out. You'll see what I mean if the sky's nice."

"Well, now I'm scared to come!" Wendy panicked.

"Well, ya better watch out," Lee got on all fours, "'cause I might be one, TOO! !"

"AAAAH!" Wendy fell on her front when Lee pounced on her. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" They laughed happily.

 _"Child, you're crushing me!"_

"Oops, sorry, Carla." Wendy climbed off of her flattened cat.

 **EiznekCm House**

Nerehc took a quick bath after returning home, and the wetness was still present in his hair by the time he was dressed. He went to his room and would enter the Posiverse through his dresser mirror to meet with Cheren again. He had laid his sword halfway in the mirror to keep the portal open for that reason. But Nerehc saw a different sword on his bed: it had a green hilt and was encased in a black sheath.

Nerehc picked up a note by the sword. It read, _500 years Karakura_. Signed with a green crayon picture of a head with snake hair. Nerehc glared at her signature and focused on the sword, then took the Ocarina of Time out of his pocket. Medusa must know what they're going to do next.

 **En route to Sector JP**

"So you think it's another clue?" Cheren asked. He, Nerehc, and MaKayla were flying to Japan in a S.C.A.M.P.E.R., which the former was piloting.

"Yep, Medusa must be on to us. I guess it's a good coincidence we were heading to Karakura, anyway."

"I don't think Medusa was talking about _this_ Karakura Town." MaKayla replied. "When I was sucked into the Multiverse Portal, I landed in a different Karakura. The members of Sector JP were there, except they _weren't_ Sector JP. It was an Original World."

"An Original World?" Nerehc repeated.

"Do you know about them?"

"The Moon Spirit Cresselia appeared and told us about them. And Lucifer mentioned that that's where the Darknesses come from."

"Then we really are on the right track."

"But why did you want to come to JP again?" Cheren asked MaKayla.

"Because if they have counterparts in Original Worlds, we could possibly use them to trace that universe again."

"Don't we have this sword to do that?" Nerehc asked. "Assuming you're right, of course."

"Yes, but I think Karin in particular would be suitable for the task at hand, given her position."

"What position?" asked Cheren.

"Oh, riiiight, she never told you!" Kayla cooed, pinching Cheren's cheek. "Well, you're in for a surprise."

At the moment, Sector JP's treehouse was taken over by monkeys, so the sector was forced to take refuge in a secret bunker in their local forest. A hatch on the ground opened to let the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. land in the underground hangar. The hangar turned dark when the hatch closed, so the trio entered a lit-up doorway to the hideout's living room. "Cherry Pie, welcome to the Secret Pad." Karin Kurosaki greeted with mock enthusiasm. Jinta and Ururu were seen playing games on a couch. "I don't suppose you're here to help us get those monkeys off our backs?"

"You're still having trouble with those apes?" Cheren chuckled. "I thought you would've called animal control by now."

"We tried to, but they have hypno beams at every entrance. Yuzu keeps getting hit and going Karate Mode."

"Unfortunately, we're here for a different matter." MaKayla said seriously. "I think it's time you revealed your secret, Karin."

"Secret?" Karin's brows twitched. Jinta and Ururu heard this and looked over.

"You have an affiliation with the Spirit Kids Next Door. Believe me, I have my sources, and I sensed the energy radiating from you during sector meetings."

Cheren and Nerehc raised a brow at Karin. She sighed. "Fine, but promise you two won't gasp and jump back in shock. Cheren, you remember that report I sent when we fought the Brotherhood leader a few months back?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I left out a little detail." Before their eyes, Karin FLASHED, and transformed into a ghost. She had a black robe, light-blue flames around her ankles, and a white aura around her body.

"YAAAH!" Cheren and Nerehc jumped back in shock.

"Ugh." Karin face-palmed. "S'yeah, the truth is I'm a Halfa – you know, like Danny Phantom. I do part-time work for the Spirit Kids Next Door, but I'm not allowed to use my powers against mortals. That's sorta why I never told you."

"I encounter the Spirit KND during my regular trips to the Spirit World." Kayla said. "I got the tip from them."

"What, is she in trouble or something?" Jinta questioned.

"No, but we need Karin for a project. As a matter of fact, her uniform will work perfectly for this mission."

"What're we doing, exactly?" Karin asked. She hadn't really expected any sort of mission today, let alone one regarding her powers.

"We're going to find one of the Thirteen Darknesses." Nerehc confirmed, holding up the unnamed sword.

"We'll explain on the way." Cheren said. "Our next stop is Gravity Falls."

 **Gravity Falls; Portal Chamber**

The triangle machine was still active and spiraling its neon colors, the only light in this dark, ancient basement. Mabel, Grenda, and Candy were sitting on the floor, holding fishing rods that were cast into the portal. "I bet if I eat a Dimension Bass, it'll create a wormhole in my stomach, and I'll be able to eat 10,000 cheeseburgers without exploding!" Grenda exclaimed.

"I just wanna put it on my wall and hear it sing." Mabel said with an innocent smile. "But it might sing in some garbly, other-dimensionly language."

"Mabeeeel!" Dipper cried, entering the chamber with Cheren's group. "I told you not to go dimension-fishing in the Multiverse Portal!"

"Relax, Dipper! It's not like we're going to catch the Time-Space drain plug with our fishing poles. Oh, I caught something!" Mabel quickly reeled hers in. An ant the size of a dog flew out of the portal, nibbling the lure. "WHOA! That is one ugly dog!" The ant spat out the lure and crawled back up into the portal.

"Sigh. Anyway, we've been studying this portal ever since Wendy and MaKayla made it out." Dipper explained as he led them into the secret room. The Master Emerald was still sitting in its power station. "Look at this." He showed them a scanner machine with a computer attached to it. "According to the journals, this device was meant to scan people or objects and detect duplicates of them in the Original Worlds!"

"Really? Try to scan Karin." Cheren ordered.

"Sure. Stand in front of it." Karin stood a few feet from the tiny eye-size hole, which shone a red holographic scan that swept down and up her body.

 _"Parallel detected in Original World 'Karakura.' Directing to targeted destination."_

They went to look at the portal. The arrow in the circle of symbols pointed at one of a flame. "So it can." MaKayla observed. "But I think the portal has another purpose: it can travel through time."

"IT CAN!" exclaimed Dipper, flipping open Journal 2. He lit the purple light and showed invisible ink. "'While the portal can target specific universes, it seems that it drops me off at certain points in Time in those universes. Bill and I have built a device for an object called the 'Ocarina of Time,' which he says can be used to target specific times. But the ocarina in question has been lost for-'" He looked up when Nerehc held up the instrument.

"Not anymore."

There was a machine on the left of the main panel with a small, square-shaped glass cabinet. It was perfectly fit for the ocarina's size. Fi leapt out and said, _"Master Cheren, I can use my telepathy and command the ocarina to transport the user 500 years in the past. Based on the structure of this device, there is a 70% chance that the vast chronokinetic energy contained in the ocarina will be transferred to the Multiverse Portal. This will, in turn, enable the portal to warp people and objects to the respective time date within the specified dimension."_

"Sounds like a 70% worth chancing." With that, Nerehc performed the Song of Time, joined by Fi's marvelous vocals. When the ocarina began to glow, they set it inside the cabinet and shut it. It shone a bright blue light, and the energy transferred along the cords to the portal. The machine shone blue, as did the spiraling portal. Mabel, Grenda, and Candy shut their eyes from the blinding light and ceased their fishing.

"This must be it!" MaKayla exclaimed. "Karin, now's your chance, go in! Eventually, the portal should call you back."

"But I don't even know what I'm looking for!"

"You're finding one of the Thirteen Darknesses. His name is Aizen. You need to take him to the dungeons and find a stone pyramid."

"How do you know these things?"

"Because I was here before! This is based on the information I picked up."

"First we'll make sure the Darkness's location is on the dot!" Nerehc ran up to the scanner and presented the sheathed sword to it. The machine detected the sword's original location, and the destination of Dimension Karakura didn't change.

Karin faced the portal with nervousness in her heart. She took a breath to relieve this feeling, then transformed into a ghost. She flew headfirst into the portal and whisked across the Sea of Worlds. There were bubbles with images of a white-haired man, a strong man with a cocky grin, and a creature Karin recognized as a Hollow. She was nearly dizzied by the images in the Dimensional Byway before a great white light engulfed her.

 **Soul Society; 500 years ago**

Karin woke up under a blue sky with clouds, having landed in an alleyway between old wood houses. She got up on her feet and observed her surroundings. She floated upward for a better view of the area. She was in a village of some sort, with a huge white castle-like structure in the distance. The village looked like something from feudal Japan.

"Hu!" Blue mist escaped from Karin's mouth; her Ghost Sense. It leaked out like a cracked bottle—Karin cupped her mouth shut. She landed on the ground and began to look for the cause that alerted the sense.

 _"What's wrong, Nerd?! Why're you so afraid, huh?"_ Karin heard a voice from around a left building corner. She peeked and saw a gang of large boys, surrounding a smaller boy with brown hair. They all wore ragged clothing and the small boy was the only one with shoes – brown sandals.

"Come on, guys." The boy's head was bowed, and he looked timid. "Can't we just forget about it?"

"Nuh-uh!" The largest bully, a fat boy with blue robes and budding hair, smirked. "We know what you did to those Shinigami chasin' after Kisuke! You got in their way and blew 'em back with your Super Reiatsu! Sōsuke, the mega freak who can't go nowhere wifout his Spirit Pressure over-pressurizing stuff! Well, c'mon, Sōsuke, show us your mega power!" The bullies surrounded the child and started pushing him around in their circle.

"Guys, stop! Really, I mean it- hey!"

"What're those kids' problem?" Karin asked herself with spite. "Hm, they're about to have another one-" She stomped up to them—the bullies were all blown apart by a sudden explosion, a small but forceful one. The boy was standing in the center where it came from, panting with anger.

"AHHH!" The bully screamed. "He really is a monster! RUUUN! Let the Shinigami get rid of him!" His friends followed his example and cowered away from the area, screaming.

Confused, Karin decided to approach the boy. He gazed up at her with nervous brown eyes, and moaned a faint _"Uhhhhh…"_

"Hey, I'm not gonna bully you." Karin said. "So close your mouth before a bug enters in."

He waited a moment before speaking. "…Are you… a Shinigami?"

"Shinigami?"

"Yeah… you're wearing the robe…"

"I am?" Karin looked at her black robe. "I guess I am… So, why were those guys picking on you?"

"Um…" He looked down. "Because of my Reiatsu."

"Reiatsu? …Hu!" Karin's Ghost Sense leaked out in a ceaseless fashion again.

"Yeah, I have really big Reiatsu. And it makes me…?" He looked up and saw Karin trying to hold her mouth shut.

The girl turned around and let the mist float out. _Wait a minute… this is a Spirit World. Everything here… but this boy, he…_

"Are you okay, Miss?"

Karin turned back to him once the Ghost Sense settled. "I'm fine. My name's Karin – Karin Kurosaki." She smiled and sat down. "What's your name?"

"It's Aizen. Sōsuke… Aizen."

"Aizen?" The name immediately rang a bell.

"Do you want something from me, Shinigami-sama?"

 _Is this kid really a Darkness? He's so small. But then again…_ "I was just looking around." Karin answered. "But tell me about this Reiatsu of yours, Aizen. You said it was really big?"

"Uh-huh." Aizen said in his timid voice. "I don't know why it is, I was just born this way. I was told my mom died giving birth to me, and my dad just… dropped me. And I can't control it most of the time. I can't…!" Aizen's hair started waving, and Karin felt an invisible force. "Aaaaahh… It's happening again!" He started panicking.

The blue mist leaked out of Karin's mouth again. "Hang on!" She shot ectoplasmic energy from both hands and encased Aizen in a green barrier. She found it difficult to contain the force, and the barrier was cracking from it. Karin managed to keep it steady long enough for the power to die down. After three minutes, she released the barrier.

"I'm sorry… It acts up on its own a lot." He said shamefully. "I… Wait… What was that spiritual pressure, Miss?"

"What? You mean that barrier I just did?" Karin replied.

"Yes… I've never seen Reiatsu like that. It doesn't feel like any…"

Karin wondered if it was okay to say where she was from. She decided not to and chose to alter her backstory. "I was also born with a strange Reiatsu. It's green-colored and behaves differently from normal Reiatsu. But it gave me an unfair advantage over everyone else; and I felt kind of bad for it." She was referring to her skill on the soccer field. "Not only that… my mother died because of my power." Karin said remorsefully.

"What did you do about it?"

The story was actually sensitive to Karin, and she felt awkward about editing it. "Well… I just learned to accept my powers. They didn't change who I was inside, and best of all, I could use them to help people. I'm not sure how to help you control your powers, but maybe you can think of them as a gift. In the future, they could help you do something phenomenal."

"Hmm…" Aizen bowed his head. "I never thought about it that way… The only thing I worry about is… how strong my power could get… I worry about what could happen because of them…"

Karin tilted his head back up, giving him an assuring grin. "If you're worried about it, then make sure it doesn't happen. Try to learn how to control them, try to get in touch with these powers. One day, you'll be able to do great things, and you'll be very thankful that you have them."

"You really think… that I can?"

"Sure ya can, Slugger!" Karin playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Just keep your chin up and believe in yourself a bit more!"

"Ah!" Aizen flinched, holding his shoulder. "Why did you hit me, Shinigami-sama?"

"What? No-no-no, that wasn't a hit!" she said quickly. "It was a shoulder bump! It's just my way of saying 'I have faith in you'!" _Man, I really hope I'm not screwing up the timeline._

"Eh heh. That's a very odd way of saying that, Shinigami-sama."

"Please, just call me Karin. …Actually, call me Karin-san. I like being called that."

"Ha ha." Aizen blushed. "Ok. …Hey, Karin-san? What do you do for the Gotei 13? Can I ask what squad you're in?"

"Ah!" Karin jumped at the question that could easily blow her cover. "Well, I, uh… work in Squad 1 and I…!" She beamed at the opportunity at hand, "I work down in the dungeons! Checking on prisoners and… stuff! If you want, I can give you a tour of the place!"

"A tour? Are you allowed to do that?"

"Sure I am, it's no big deal!" Karin grinned, ruffling his hair. "But just in case, let's not tell anyone. But FIRST, I'm gonna quiz ya!" She winked and stuck her index finger up. "Where is the dungeon located?"

"U-Under Squad 1…" Aizen stuttered.

"Correct! Which is where, exactly?"

"Er… It's that big place right there." He spoke as if the answer was an obvious fact and pointed at the castle-like structure.

"YES, that would be pretty obvious to anyone that that… is where it is." Karin felt stupid inside. "O-kay, quiz completed, hop aboard and let's go!" Karin picked the child up and turned invisible as she soared across the village.

They went unseen by the Shinigami guards, but they appeared to sense the Reiatsu emitted from Aizen. Karin phased them through the ground outside the castle and down several floors of what was clearly an underground dungeon. Karin and Aizen set foot on the 8th floor, the former lighting her hand green in order to see in the darkness. _"I'm looking for a stone pyramid, is that it?"_ she mumbled. _"Something like that shouldn't be too hard to…"_

"Did you say something, Karin-san?"

"Um, I was talking about the… super rare treasure that is lost within the dungeon depths."

"Treasure?"

"Yes, it's a pyramid! It's an old legend that's told among us Shinigami, but no one's ever found it. I wonder if we'll be lucky enough to?"

"Heh, is this some sort of game, Miss?" Aizen smiled.

"Maybe it is! You should play along."

"Wait… I feel something." The boy looked left.

"What?"

Aizen entered an open cell that had nothing inside but dust and chains. He approached a dark hole in the corner of the room. Karin held her glowing hand over the hole, but could not see its bottom. "What do you feel, Aizen?"

"I don't know… but I wanna go down there and see what it is. Is it safe?"

"I'm… not sure. …But I wanna see what it is, too. Let's go down together." Karin picked him up and began to float down. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"Karin-san… do you think the pyramid is down here?"

"There's a 70% chance that it is." (Play "Earth Temple" from _Zelda: Wind Waker_.)

 _Stage B-21: Dungeon Depths_

 _Mission: Find the Pyrameglyph._

Karin and Aizen set foot on the bottom of the hole. The cave was full of dust and bones, and it was surprising to have faint light giving them vision in this dungeon. The first room was small and had a locked door—and it seemed Karin was unable to go intangible through it. She began to overturn the many small stones that were lain in the room. A dark scorpion with a skull mask jumped out of one of them and latched onto her face, but Karin was quick to yank it off and destroy the Hollow. "Look, Karin-san!" Aizen said, pointing to the key that was uncovered from the rock.

The two used it to unlock the door and go to the next room. They were on a platform over a wide room with many tall pillars that had mirrors on them. There was a Sun Switch on the other side, and it had a sleeping face due to no light. There was a light shining on a higher mirror, but it was faced away from the others, and all those mirrors faced random directions.

Karin kicked her soccerball at a mirror – the ball ignited like a comet from the force of the kick, and the mirror spun around before stopping to face another. Sadly, the mirror changed back after a few seconds. Karin saw a higher platform on her right and decided to fly up. With good precision, she kicked the ball around a sequence of mirrors, turning them one after the other, then she quickly hit the top mirror to direct the light all around them, eventually hitting the Sun Switch and opening the door.

The following room was even more wide, but the floor was covered in a blue fog. "Karin-san, that's Curse Fog." Aizen cautioned. "You won't be able to use your Reiatsu in it."

Karin examined the rest of the room, her eyes falling on the locked door on the other side. "But what choice do I have? Hop on my shoulders and I'll walk us across." Aizen complied, and was safe above the Curse Fog's reach as Karin stepped in. She felt powerless with the blue fog touching her, and hidden under its mist were black holes on the floor. Dark hands called Holemasters lunged out of these holes and seemed intent on grabbing Aizen, so Karin leapt away before they had the chance. She was forced to keep her eyes down in search of the key, dodging Holemasters every which way. She felt her foot step on something long, discovering the key.

Karin made her way to the ledge with the locked door and got inside. She and Aizen viewed a corridor over a chasm, in which the door was partway down on the opposite end. Blue Bubbles, skulls with the Curse Fog, were floating over the pit. Karin was unable to fly up high, for an unseen force was preventing her. She would have to glide across. She carried Aizen and maneuvered around the Blue Bubbles, having to wait for an opening between two of them and having to sink lower to get under three stationary Bubbles. She managed to land the platform before going too low and they entered the next room.

It was another straight hallway where the door was free for the opening. Karin smirked at the simple puzzle and walked forward proudly. Steps before touching the door, a ghost possessed her and forced Karin to go back. "Hey, get off of me! Stupid ghost, let me go!" No matter how much she tried to force herself around, the Poe wouldn't comply. Eventually, the ghost left her body on its own accord.

"Are you all right, Karin-san?" Aizen asked.

"Yeah. Boy, was that ever unpleasant." The two entered the door to a bigger room over a pit of Curse Fog. A bridge crossed over to a central platform, then a set of smaller platforms would lead to a door. Karin's Ghost Sense picked up more hidden Poes, waiting to possess her. She shot Ecto Blasts at the empty air, but they seemed to do nothing. "Ugh. I know more of those ghosts are waiting for me."

"Karin-san, I have an idea." Aizen said. "That ghost was making you go the opposite of where you wanted to, right? Maybe you can use that against them."

"Hmm… Good idea, Kid." Karin walked forth and allowed the first Poe to possess her. She tried to walk the opposite direction, but the Poe's will commanded her to keep forward. She moved carefully over the thin bridge with no railing, making sure she didn't shift left or right too much. By the time she was at the platform, the Poe abandoned her. Karin and Aizen then had to cross a series of platforms that would tilt under their weight. As Karin expected, a Poe possessed her, and commanding it to will her in the opposite direction required better timing and precision on these unbalanced footholds. Karin managed to reach the last platform, but in her attempt to step on the ledge, she stumbled and fell over. "AAAH-!"

"Karin-san!" Aizen grabbed and pulled Karin over to the ledge. The Poe left her body.

"Phew, thanks! Hey, how come those ghosts don't come after you?"

"Maybe my Reiatsu's too much for them." He blushed.

They entered the door and gazed up a flight of stairs. "I got this." Karin picked Aizen up and flew up the stairwell at high speed. It was nice to know this room didn't weigh her down, for she kept flying and flying, the stairs and wall texture whipping past her. And she kept going and going and going… there were so many stairs. Why hasn't she made it outside at this point?

"Karin-san? Why do you keep flying in circles?" Aizen asked.

"What're you talking about, we're going straight."

"No we aren't, we're just flying in a loop. It's getting dizzy."

"What…" Karin stopped. The stairs and walls turned wavy.

"The door is down there. Just fly down."

The stairwell faded away, revealing the true, downward stairs that led to a door. "What… was that about…" Her mind still swimming, Karin floated down and entered the door. (End song.)

A dreary mist filled the room and dozens of skulls lay around the floor. Through the fog, they could see a triangular shadow. As Karin stepped closer, she could make out hieroglyphics on the pyramid and the eye on its tip. "Aizen… it's the pyramid!"

"It is?"

The dozens of skulls floated up. Karin readied her guard, expecting them to attack. One at a time, the skulls lit with a colored flame, starting from orange, green, blue, purple, then it repeats. Soon, all the skulls were lit, flying around the pyramid in a colorful circle. They stopped: all the skulls had goofy faces and began to sing loudly.

 _OOO, INTRUDERS WANDER TO OUR MIDST_

 _To beat us with their groady fists_

 _They really baked a nasty cake_

 _Of one great big mistake!_

A giant skull mask appeared above the pyramid and sang in a dark voice-

 ** _Well let's not let them run AROUND_**

 ** _We'll turn their ORGANS upside-down!_**

 ** _We'll stew their brains and crunch their bones_**

 ** _And see they never pay back their loans_**

 _Their SOULS- ARE- NOW- OUR- OOOWWWN!_

All the flame skulls flew into the mask, which puffed a fat black body with a hole in its chest. The hole filled with a neon light composed of all the souls in this Hollow's body. The ghost cackled demonically and the battle began. (Play Jalhalla's Theme from _Wind Waker_!)

 _Boss fight: Jahollow_

"If that isn't Most Creative Boss Name of the Year!" Karin retorted. The giant Hollow blasted colorful fireballs as Karin flew up and around him. She shot Ecto Blasts at his belly, but they merely bounced off and shot herself. Jahollow flew over to smash Karin under his belly, but she had flipped over to push against his weight with both feet. She kept him high enough to quickly fly out, letting him plop onto nothing. When Jahollow recovered, Karin blasted twin Ecto Rays at his chest, the Hollow shaking from the unbearable pain. The light of the neon chest grew brighter until he exploded. The colorful skulls scattered and flew around rampantly.

 _We're SEPARATED all around_

 _Master Jahollow has fell down_

 _Run away, up high, up low_

 _Before she deals her fatal blow!_

"Unfortunately for you, I see a bunch of moving balls!" Karin flew around and, with power and gusto, kicked as many of the skulls as she could. Each one ricocheted around the room before shattering, and Karin took delight when their flames made many a colorful flame-line during their bounce-around. After striking six skulls, Jahollow's face returned, and the remaining skulls reunited at his core, reforming his body.

Karin blasted at his chest, but the Hollow pulled his belly up to shield his chest. Jahollow began to inhale, creating a vacuum that Karin tried to outrun. When the Hollow ceased, it released the condensed air at the ground, blowing several tornadoes of dust. Karin was swept up in one of the whirlwinds, spinning around and around before she was forced against the ground. Jahollow seized the chance to smash her.

Karin forced twin Ecto Rays up to push the fat ghost off. As she gasped for breath, she took note of how she pushed him off. She flew level with Jahollow and shot twin rays, pushing him once more. She pushed him above the pyramid, flew above, then pushed down so the pyramid's tip pierced his belly. The Hollow exploded, freeing the rainbow skulls as they flew rampantly again. Karin tried to beat her record, kicking each skull that crossed her vision. She was able to beat nine skulls, leaving four more. Those four flew into the Hollow mask once it returned.

Jahollow turned invisible and reappeared behind Karin, possessing and forcing her to fly in opposite directions. She smirked, having already encountered this trick, so she faced Jahollow's direction and fired- "AAAH!" She shot herself with the Ecto Rays and flew back. The curse must redirect her aim, too. When she recovered, Jahollow immediately possessed her again. She managed to face up at him and would shoot herself in order to forcibly shoot him. However, Jahollow saw this trick and broke his control, letting Karin shoot herself again.

"Karin-san!" Aizen ran up to her.

"Aizen?"

"Karin-san, let him possess me!"

"What? I'm not gonna risk you like that!"

"Please just let me!" The child looked fearlessly as Jahollow approached. This new prey was brimming with Reiatsu, and it looked so delicious to the Hollow's dead eyes. Jahollow cast its possession spell on Aizen—immediately the monster was overwhelmed, and exploded from the radiating power.

Karin seized the chance to kick and destroy the last four skulls. Only Jahollow's skull remained, and Karin smirked at his helpless state. "Don't worry, this is only an accident." Karin tossed her ball up and kicked it at Jahollow's face with full force. Like many kids from the soccer field she can't remember, his skull broke. "Nothing a trip to the nurse's office won't fix." (End song.)

"Hey, Karin-san!" Aizen yelled excitedly. "I did it, didn't I?"

Karin bashed him in the head. "OW! Is that your way of saying 'yes'?"

"NO. That was my way of saying that was a VERY risky move!"

"B-But I-"

"And I'm proud of you for it." She smirked and tilted his head up.

"Ah… hehe." He blushed.

"Honestly, you reminded me of one of my teammates."

"Hehe…" Aizen turned and faced the stone pyramid. Karin frowned as he approached it, looking as though he was in a trance.

"Aizen… you feeling okay?"

He stopped before the pyramid. "I'm fine." A dark aura appeared around the ruin. With the gray mist out of the way, he could see the text. And Karin could tell that he could read it.

 _Do not deny the powers in your veins. Let them be yours, and know that the only force in this world is absolute power._

The eye on the pyramid tip glowed and the dark aura entered his body. Karin suspects the mission is now complete.

 **Sōsuke Aizen awakened as a _DARKNESS_. Only 7 more to go.**

"…Karin-san."

She was silent, almost fearing what he would say after that. "Er… yes?"

"…Do you think… I can join Gotei 13?" He turned to her with a smile, holding a green-hilted sword in his hand.

Karin was shocked. "Where did you get that?"

"It just appeared… heheh. Maybe it's a Zanpakutō. I wonder what it does?" He drew it.

The Ghost Sense leaked from her mouth again—a dizzying sensation fell over Karin. _"Karin-san?"_ The world turned blurry, her feet felt cold, she was smelling delicious cakes and pastries. _"Karin-san, what's wrong?"_ She could taste that cake, too. Mmm, it was so good. She wanted to keep eating it. She wanted to keep-

"Karin-san!" The feeling was gone. She was on her hands and knees, facing Aizen directly. He had sheathed the sword.

"Nn… sorry." Karin got up. "Let's get you out of here." She carried Aizen and flew up through the ceiling, phasing through all the many layers of spirit-rock until they made it above the surface. "Sigh, THAT time it works. Aizen, it was great meeting you, but I'm afraid I can't stick around. If you want to join the Gotei, you should talk to one of the higher-ups."

"Karin-san… why did you lie to me?"

Her heart skipped a beat. "Uh… What?"

"A minute ago… you said you were from a different universe. Here to find me."

She bit her teeth. "I didn't say that!"

"But… you did. Or was it… your mind?…" Aizen looked at the sheathed sword he was holding. He faced Karin again and yelled, "Karin-san, who are you really?!"

"…Sigh." She calmed down. "Aizen, I'm sorry. You're right, I'm from a different world. I was on an assignment to help you… 'awaken' yourself."

"What does that mean?"

"I… don't really know myself. I couldn't explain it to you, and… I don't think I should. Aizen, I think you should forget that you met me. Just remember what I taught you."

"Karin-san…"

A ray of light pierced through the sky and shook the ground. "Uh-oh! I guess that's my way back!" Karin exclaimed. "Good-bye, Aizen! Who knows, maybe we'll meet up again! Until then, see ya!" She flew into the portal, which then vanished after a few seconds, the tremors ceasing.

"Good-bye… Karin Kurosaki." And from then on, Aizen never mentioned her to anyone. But he remembered her name to this day… _Kurosaki._

 **Portal Chamber**

"Heads up, girls! Mabel's got herself a ringer!" Mabel exclaimed, standing firm as she reeled her fishing rod with gusto. "We are gonna EAT tonight!"

None other than Karin flew out of the portal. "PLEH!" She spat the lure out of her mouth. "Dammit, I'm not a fish!"

"We caught a ghost with a fishing pole!" Candy beamed. "Take THAT, Jack Fenton!"

"Karin, you made it back!" Cheren exclaimed. "What was it like? Did you meet the Darkness—did you find the pyramid?"

"Good, I think, and yes. I found Aizen like you said. He read the Gibberish Pyramid and then darkness flew inside him."

"That about sums it up." Nerehc said. "You guys were right, then. The Darknesses really are through this portal."

MaKayla approached it, staring at the swirly vortex. "But why? The Original Worlds were said to be secluded from our dimensional plane. According to legend, the gods designed this universe from what existed in those universes. So why are the Darknesses in those worlds? Who would've decided this?"

"The only thing we can do now is find them." affirmed Nerehc. "Cheren, you and your pals focus on getting the Lights. Me and my operatives will keep using this portal to find the Darknesses. I may have to rely on Medusa to send me more artifacts."

"But what about the ocarina? You won't be able to target the dates without Fi."

"So leave Fi here."

"Ghh!" Cheren flinched. He took out his sword and held it aloft. "Can I do that?"

Fi jumped out. _"Master Cheren, in the same manner that I was commanded to guide Sector V to Solana, I can remain in this chamber if you so need me to. If my advice is not needed, you may take the Master Sword whilst I remain and obey the requests of Not-Master Nerehc. If it is your desire, let it be so."_

Cheren hesitated to answer. Fi's advice was helpful, whether or not it's needed most of the time… Without her spirit in the sword, he would feel a tad lonely. But for the sake of finding all the Keys… "Okay, Fi. Stay here and do whatever Nerehc tells you."

 _"Understood, Master. I hope that we may reunite soon."_

Cheren faced his Negative. "Bring her back as soon as you're done, got it?"

"Relax, man, I will." Nerehc smiled. "My sword's cooler, anyway."

"Ha ha… Well, good luck, you two." He, MaKayla, and Karin left the cave.

Fi turned to Nerehc and said, _"Master's Wannabe Nerehc, I am at your command."_

"Well, this is gonna be fun." He sighed in exhaust.

 **Somewhere in Europe; 96 years ago**

The waves smashed against the cliffside on this gloomy, stormy day. A person's voice could roughly be heard down here. If someone were to fall into the raging sea, nobody would hear them scream. It was a sea that Davy Jones loved to sail.

It wasn't often that Davy Jones sailed this close to land, but he agreed to at the request of his new master. Negatar Gnaa stared at the cliffside as the _Flying Dutchman_ drew close to it. "I cannot go any farther without alarming the town." Jones said. "Why did you wish to sail this way, Lord Gnaa?"

"I feel a voice calling to me." Gnaa said solemnly. "A voice… in the darkness."

 _"I, too, feel it, Master."_ Phantom Gnaa hissed, holding his master's shoulders. _"Let us go."_

The phantom carried Lord Gnaa across the waves and the rocks, and set him on a thin path along the cliffside. Lord Gnaa entered a cave where he felt the darkness emanate. It was very dark, and the only areas that had a hint of light were a dull gray. Tiny drips of water echoed across the dank cave. Gnaa's only guide was the darkness that called for him.

He found the source between a group of crystals that gave off a gray glow. It was a small boy of nine years old, with dark hair and dull clothes. He looked up at the figure with an arrow on his head. Negatar Gnaa stared at him blankly and spoke in a whisper, "Why are you down here?"

"I'm hiding." The boy said lowly.

"From who?"

"I'm hiding from the world. I don't belong in the world. The world… hates me."

"Why does the world hate you?"

"I can do things that others can't. I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who are mean to me. I can make them hurt."

"…I can do things that others can't as well." Gnaa said. "I can feel the darkness in people's hearts."

"Is that why you're down here?"

"I came down here because I felt the darkness in _your_ heart. I can feel the darkness clouding you. I can feel it… becoming you. The world has given you pain. It has made you want the darkness."

"Then… what am I to do?"

"…Embrace the darkness. Welcome it. And it will always be with you. It will always help you…"

"Would the darkness… be my friend?" The boy stood. "Would it… talk to me?"

Phantom Gnaa rose from the ground before him, a body of black mist with glowing eyes. _"Yes… it would…"_

The boy looked down at his feet. His own shadow appeared to stretch away from him, acting on its own. When the boy looked up, the stranger was gone. He walked forward slowly, the sound of his footsteps mixed with the echoing droplets. The child looked right when another part of the cave glowed. Down the passage of crystals was a stone pyramid.

The boy approached the strange ruin. It must have sat in this cave for thousands of years. And yet, it looked so… clean. The cavern droplets did not wither away its text or its form. But some droplets seeped into the engraved letters and the eye on top. The crystals brimmed greater, giving everything in the cave a bright gray. They highlighted the pyramid's perfect form, and the letters clear enough for him to read.

 _The light shall fade… only darkness can live forever. Do not let yourself fade. Reject the light… Rejoice the darkness…_

The dark aura from the pyramid flew into the boy's body. He understood the text's meaning… he let it sink into his mind.

 **Tom Riddle awakened as a _DARKNESS_. Just 6 more to go.**

The _Flying Dutchman_ sailed away from the land, soon to be gone with the storm. "There should be a number of worthy shadowbending teachers in Britain. Many of the wizards and witches are-ah." Davy Jones said.

"I have already found a worthy teacher." Gnaa smirked. "Now it is a matter of…" he looked back and faced the cliff, "waiting."

 **Same cliff; present time** (Play "Organization XIII" from _Kingdom Hearts II_.)

Ninety-six years later, waves were still mercilessly smashing against the cliffs. Some of the rocks had eroded away. Medusa stood on the edge and felt the forceful wind. Behind her, Baby Chernabog was asleep, kept warm by Pandora's flame. Medusa looked back at them for a moment, then faced the horizon. "Let me ask you something, Thanatos… When is a person most susceptible to the darkness?"

"The answer is obvious, Medusa!" said the snake on her shoulder. "It's when they are young!"

"Correct. A child is always most vulnerable to darkness. An undeveloped mind is an open mind. Even Firstborn like Jirachi can be easily fooled. That's why many of these Darknesses realize their destinies when they're young. And it is why, even as they have become adults, the light has never reached them. True, the Seven Lights can try to avoid the darkness all the same… but all that matters is destiny is truly set in stone. Then it's survival of the fittest."

 **Outside Sector JP's hideout**

It was a cloudy and chilly night in the forest. Karin's teammates have gone to sleep, but she was outside, waiting. Her Spirit KND mentor, Yachiru, flew down from the trees and set foot, making a salute. "You called me, Karin-chan?"

"Ha ha, hi, Yachiru." Karin smiled. "Sorry if you were busy… but I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, anything!" The pink-haired girl smiled brightly.

"Do you know anything about anyone named… Sōsuke Aizen?"

"Aizen… hmmmm…" Yachiru stroked her chin. "The name _sounds_ familiar…" She paced left and right. "I think I read it in a book… OH!" She perked up. "Right! It's a story about a man who challenged the gods, nearly 10,000 years ago! His name was Sōsuke Aizen!"

"Do you know… what it was about?"

 **10,000 years ago…**

He woke up in a desolate field, lost and confused. He didn't know how he landed here… there was a great flash in the sky and that was it. Dust blew in the wind, and swords were impaled in the ground, marking the places of fallen warriors.

Aizen heard a pair of footsteps behind him, but did not turn to see their owner. "It was a bloodthirsty battle." Medusa said. "But I'm sure it was nothing… compared to your power."

"…That's a shame." Aizen turned around. He was a handsome man with smooth brown hair, sharp brown eyes, and a sleek white robe. "For a second, I was… upset."

"I feel it in your heart. The irrepressible urge to unleash your unending power. But striking at mortals would be like… striking at empty air. You want beings that you can call equals."

"Equals… So there is more than one?" Aizen was humored at the idea.

"Of course… And I would be happy to take you to them." She smirked maliciously. "But first… I want to test your power."

 _"I can't believe it took all the gods together just to beat him!" Yachiru said._

* * *

 **I didn't feel like Tom Riddle needed a stage. Maybe because we just did a cave stage. So Aizen is from _Bleach_ and Riddle is from _Harry Potter_ —which you all should know. :P I might throw in an Augustus stage next, but soon we should get to the nitty-gritty of Tenth Firstborn Arc. This arc continues in Lazarus Saga, so see you then. ;P**


	25. Parley

**This chapter comes after Chapter 51 (so I guess it's first in the Lazarus Saga). We're gonna jump right to an Augustus stage, then go to some good stuff. Also, in-chapter Number Cipher.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-25: Parley_**

 **Top of Buttermilk Building**

The Marzipan Pirates ventured up Buttermilk for the second time. This time, with Augustus's crewmen able to join him, they approached the pool of rotten Sun Cream. Nel climbed off Augustus and approached the dry brown pool. "Mud usually look good… This mud don't."

"Hopefully, it won't stay that way. Stewie, go for it." Augustus ordered.

The boy genius pulled out his Metahuman Neutralizer and blasted at the cream. To their astonishment, it was slowly morphing back into its whitish-gold color, and the pleasant smell Augustus was familiar with began to reach their noses. "I can't believe it, it's working!" Stewie beamed.

 _"Impressive. But who knows how long it will stay that way?"_ a robotic voice spoke.

The five gasped and looked up. A Cinnamon Ship was descending, and the red-eyed robot known as the Silver Bullet was manning it. The silver mecha parked the ship and stepped off, the children readying their guard. Nel jumped in front and yelled, "Don't touch Aughsucks or Nel eat you, Rock Man!"

"That's okay, Nel." Augustus stepped around the cave child. He pulled out his lolli stick and flicked it off the mountain, eyes narrowed on the mech. "I already know you're a chica under that suit. Take it off and let me see your pretty face." He smirked.

 _"You're straight to the point, Captain. I never have enough time to get there. But since you're cute, I'll let it go."_ She gripped her helmet. _"My name is Penelope."_ She pulled it off, revealing her light lavender mouse head and big round ears, shaking her long orange hair free, which had a red bandanna over it. "Penelope Mousse." she said with a nasally voice.

Augustus's jaw dropped and he felt his heart shatter. For some reason, he was picturing a beautiful sexy girl who liked to dress like a robot. Instead, he got… "Una chica de ratón?!"

"Oh, what were you expecting, Terminator?!" Penelope retorted. "I'm a Mobian, GET OVER IT! Of course, you wouldn't expect me to be, given my species. Mobian mice are born small and they lead small lives. But I wasn't gonna live off little SCRAPS that the big animals throw away. I swiped an Everlasting Growth Potion from a Minish shop and went on to bigger and better things."

"What an engaging story. Does Captain Slag know about it?" The captain cocked a brow.

"Yes, he knows. The Slag Pirates may be an 'all-robot crew', but that doesn't mean they aren't open-minded. I've actually come here on behalf of my crew, Captain Aughsucks."

"Grrrr!" Augustus flushed at the nickname.

Penelope's suit opened as she stepped forward, wearing an orange top and blue shorts, and held her right hand to Augustus. "I'm here to call a parley."

"…Well, at least you're not a kid." He decided to shake her hand. "Very well. You have the floor."

"So, here's how it's goin' down, you know all those crews you pissed off at the Davy Back Fight? Well, Lord Licorice got _all_ of them to not only help hunt you down, but to hunt the Lost Candies, too. Except the Kremling Krew, we dunno what those guys are doin'. We know you've been gettin' all the candies, and Captain Slag is starting to become curious about them. So here's what he was thinkin': we help you find the Lost Candies and split the difference with whatever they'll do in the end. Maybe sell them to the highest bidder, we'll be set for life, know what I'm sayin'?"

"No deal. I'm collecting the Lost Candies for somebody else, not for any reward."

"Who? And for what?"

"Somebody's dying wish! I couldn't turn THAT down!"

"Well, after this person gets their 'dying wish', then what? You have six magical candies just sitting around in…" she looked around, "where are you keeping them exactly?"

"Nonya Business."

"Oh, I've been to that island before." Penelope smirked. "But listen, Captain Augustus, Lord Licorice may be making himself out as the pirates' friend, I know that he sees us as a means to an end. It's Piracy 101. How do you know this special someone isn't using you for the same reason?"

"How do I know that you aren't?"

"Touché, Captain. But the fact that Captain Slag sent me here to begin with is 'cause he's impressed with your skill. I call it luck, but hey, no arguin' with the grog factory. What he was really thinkin' is we become allies—so you can still be your own ragtag crew. You might object to it, but I don't think you'll be collecting the Lost Candies without my help."

"I got most of 'em already, and the Sun Cream is right here."

"So it may seem." Penelope approached the pool of cream and bent over to scoop some in her hand. "But this splendid serving of sun is in actuality-" She drank it- "GLUCH, PLOO, PLEEEEH!" She desperately hacked the taste off her tongue, gripping her neck. " _Oh God, that is terrible!_ I think I preferred the trash, gluk, gleeeh!"

Stewie grabbed a soda from his Infi-Cube and tossed it to her. Penelope guzzled it up and sighed with great relief. "My point is, it's not the real one."

"Then where is the real one?"

"The real one happens to be underneath. Quite a ways, in fact. We picked up this little tidbit from Licorice's henchgirl, Veruca. Said she wasn't sure if her Devil Fruit could affect the real Sun Cream, of course she couldn't go down there, given she can't swim."

"So how do we go down there?"

"Thankfully, I designed special Cinnamon Swimsuits for such an occasion. You can dive deep beneath the stickilicious cream and come back with your gravely old skin still intact. (But you'll reek of cinnamon, at least.)" Penelope went to her ship and pulled out a large diving suit with a cinnamon roll design, and a small one. "I brought one your size and three for the tykes. But I forgot about the rodent." Nel glared at her.

"That's alright. Rallo can stay up here and watch you. Provided you two are able to communicate with us."

"They have communication gear, though I wonder if they'll work through the gluck. Only one way to find out. So, do we have a deal or not?" She held a hand out.

Augustus stared at it, contemplating for a minute. It would help him get the Sun Cream, and with Stewie coming with, the Lost Candies in the Infi-Cube would be safe from her grasp. He did feel treachery afoot, but he supposed one way or another, he would have to deal with Slag's crew. So he shook her hand. "Deal."

With that, Penelope helped fix the Cinnamon Swimsuits on Augustus, Stewie (his helmet was football-shaped), Maggie, and Nel, who fussed a little as she disapproved of her help. Penelope couldn't help but giggle at their silly brown armor with black swirly stripes. "I'm sorry, but I can never get used to this whole candy thing! So ridiculous!"

 _"Just hope I won't have to Gobstop your pretty face later."_ Augustus winked. He and his choice three crewmen jumped into the cream pool and slowly descended beneath its gooey substance.

 _"This is Silver Bullet to Candy Hunter. Do ya read me?"_

"Yeah, I can hear you." Augustus responded. "But it's 'Stone Fist' now."

 _"Stone Fist? That's a crappy name."_

"Like yours is any better. Are bullets even your thing?"

 _"It's just a persona. For a time, I was Black Baron and Black Knight."_

"If you say so, darling. But I've never been a fan of aliases. Either you let the world know your name or don't become a pirate."

 _"Alright, alright, keep your glasses on. You're almost 50 feet down, I'm picking up a tunnel. It seems the cream is more clear down here, you'll be able to see."_

The four set foot on the bottom. Indeed, the way forward was clearer, but still blurry with white cream. "It's definitely not as shiny as it was on top. I wonder how bright the real cream is."

"Do you think it'll blind us like the Crystal Marshmallow?" Stewie asked.

"I hope not. Good thing I'm wearing sunglasses. But if I had to make a wild guess, the Sun Cream will look like something that goes to a machine."

 _"What kind of wild guess is that?"_ asked Penelope.

"Tell ya when we're finished." (Play "Funky Waters" from _Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze_!)

 _Stage B-4: Buttermilk Building, Act 2: The Deep Cream_

 _Mission: Find the real Sun Cream._

The pirates avoided Gum Cheeps as they swam through the tunnel – they were big gumballs with lips, eyes, and fins. The tunnel turned left, and a current was pushing the group back. Thankfully, the suits were built with small propellers that allowed them to boost, not too fast, but strong enough to push through the current. They had to avoid puffer fish that blew in the current (naturally the fish had gum bodies), but their boost had a limit before it needed to recharge. When this happened, they could hide behind jagged rocks on the floor. Augustus caught glimpse of a Gold Wonka Bar in the upper left corner, and proceeded to catch it before they made it to the end.

There was an area they could resurface and a floor they could climb on and take off their helmets. "Bleck, cinnamon right up your nose is the worst. These suits are really helpful, though."

"And even though Maggie and I have Devil Fruit powers," Stewie said, "it seems the water doesn't affect us when it doesn't touch our skin."

"Mw-mw." Maggie replied.

"Cream has milk, which has water, it's the same difference."

The light from the cream lit up the cavern. There were temple-like images on the walls. One of them depicted six giant figures standing over a small horned being. Augustus carried Nel as he, Stewie, and Maggie used their Corn-Clamber Boots to go across a path over a cream pool. Large creamy globs dropped from the ceiling and threatened to push them down. They also slid down the wall slowly and forced the crew to wait.

At the end of this path, they could set foot on stable ground and enter a greater, wider room with two towers connecting the floor and ceiling. There were creamy White Chuchus lurking around with Chocolate Coins in their blobby bellies. _"I heard that people who come up here liked to toss coins into the Sun Cream and make wishes."_ Penelope said.

"A few extra bucks for me." Augustus cut the Chus up and took the coins. There was a path that spiraled up and around one of the towers, but it was too creamy and slippery to walk on even with Corn-Clamber Boots. Farther across the room was a Rock Candy bushel, but it was trapped inside a huge Cream Chu. Cutting with the Lemon Cutlass didn't cut it, but when Augustus punched the blob with Armament fists, it took damage like a solid being and eventually shrunk into a flat puddle. They each took a piece of crystal and encased their selves in a Rock Candy sphere. But it still wasn't enough to go up the slippery path.

In another corner of the huge room was a garden of candy corn. The candy corn stuck through their spheres and their spikier undersides were outside. With greater sturdiness in their Rock Candy, they could roll up the path without sliding off. Cream Chus wearing candy corn helmets sprouted up, and Augustus had to give his sphere an extra push to crush the Chus' defenses. At the top of the path, a large spring in the tower pushed them across a bridge to the next tower, where they quickly rolled down another spiraled path that ended at a ramp, which flew them to a new tunnel.

The tunnel sloped down before they instantly crashed against a wall and their spheres broke. They had to put on their suits again and dive into a new cream pool. "Better hold hands. I can't see a thing down here." Augustus suggested. It was incredibly murky, and he led the kids carefully as they linked like a chain. The captain stopped just before touching a yellow light, which he realized was a jellyfish.

 _"Mw-mw-mw!"_ Maggie called for their attention.

 _"You can use your Zoom-In to see the jellyfish's light through all this?"_ Stewie asked through his suit.

"Glad we brought ya, Mags." Augustus smirked. "Fine, you lead the way." They reorganized their chain as Maggie began to lead them through the darkness. The jellyfish light was faint in her Zoom-In vision, but it helped them greatly in finding their way out. Eventually, they encountered a gummy anglerfish and had to keep up as it guided them in the murk. They were finally in more clear water (er, cream) as they swam through a tunnel, which had temple depictions of an ark sailing under a storm. They thought it was Noah's Ark.

When they tried to swim over a pit, ceiling propellers activated and pushed them down into it. Their suits' boost function couldn't even push up against the current, but there were Pop Gums lain around the ground. "We need Nel to eat these and shoot them. But how can we with this cream in the way?"

 _"Relax, those suits were designed to flush out cream, too. Just have her quickly open her helmet to eat and shoot them."_ Penelope responded. When Nel finished eating all the Pop Gums, Augustus used her as a gun to shoot and destroy the propellers. They could swim out of the pit, and Augustus used Nel to shoot three more propellers that kept them from advancing. They could swim to a surface and climb onto a floor in a vast room with a chasm.

There were more fans stationed around parts of the room, with one of them on their ledge. There was a huge image on the cave wall depicting who they knew was Princess Zeira, surrounded by six stars. When Stewie held down a floor switch, all the fans activated at once, but when he stepped off, they stopped. There was also a Fudgepuffsicle bushel, so Augustus knew what this puzzle entailed. "I think I'll go it alone here." he said, taking the ice cream. "It'd be less complicated. You kids will guide me across, right?"

"Any time, Captain." Stewie smiled.

"Heh he. That's my seaman." Without fear, Augustus bit the popsicle and inflated. Stewie pressed the switch so the floor fan would blow him up diagonal toward a ceiling fan. Stewie got off the switch before Augustus hit the fan, and he was able to float under the ceiling fan, allowing it to blow him downward. A fan that was on a pillar blew him across the darkness, toward a sharp stalagmite, but under a stalactite. Stewie stopped the fans when the captain passed the stalactite, so Augustus would float up in front of a fan on said stalactite, which would blow him further and over the stalagmite.

The next fan blew Augustus alongside the wall with the image of Zeira. This close, he could see a line of symbols, and Penelope caught these symbols through the camera on August's suit. A fan threatened to blow him into spikes, so Stewie stepped off the switch to prevent this. Augustus floated slightly up and got in front of a new fan that pushed him toward a foothold. He deflated and finally made land.

 _"Interesting."_ Penelope said. _"I think those symbols you just passed represent numbers from, like, a really long time ago. If I were to guess, the numbers have to be… 14, 15, 1, 8, 19, 1, 18, 11, 8, 1, 4, 12, 15, 20, 19, 15, 6, 19, 16, 1, 3, 5. I wonder what it means?"_

"It means that Mouse People must have built this place if you could decipher that." Augustus remarked.

 _"Very funny. Just keep going. This cave has to end sooner or later."_

Augustus crossed a short bridge to a ledge with a tunnel. He spared a look at the designs in the creamy cave before he made it to the final room. Using his Corn-Clambers, he stomped up the creamy stairs of an altar. At the top, he gazed at the shining, sunny treasure he had sought in this dungeon. (End song.)

He gaped at the luscious candy, its sunny light glinting off his shades. "…There was… never a Sun Cream."

 _"What do you mean?"_ Penelope asked.

"It's… a Sun KEY!"

The Lost Candy was a huge, white key with an orange sun design for a head. Augustus reached up and pulled it from the pedestal it was lodged into. "The Rock Nut… Cupcake Core… the Gear Heart… Sugar Fuel… and now this. The Lost Candies… clearly, they are parts to a machine."

 _"Are you serious?"_

"I am." Augustus clutched the key tight. "The only question is… what kind of machine does it make?"

The temple trembled suddenly. The abandoned pedestal shook and POPPED out of its station, a geyser of cream gushing out. Augustus held an arm up to defend from droplets and jumped down. The place began flooding. "Yeah, I kind of expected that." (Play "Sawmill Thrill" from _Tropical Freeze_!)

Augustus bolted through the tunnel he just passed through, which erupted cream spouts in random areas, forcing him to run around or use his Corn-Clambers to go up a wall and get around them. When he was back in the fan room, he ate a Puffsicle and signaled Stewie to switch on the fans, as one would blow him back to the babies' platform. He ordered the trio to put their suits back on as they jumped into the cream and quickly swam through the waterway. Fans appeared on either wall and blew them left or right, but it didn't hold up their progress in escaping the huge glob of thick cream behind them.

They got to the dark passage, and as a result of the avalanche, the area was spinning in whirlpools as the anglerfish and jellyfish were blowing around. The kids were caught in these whirlpools, so they had to maneuver their selves to the corresponding ones, avoiding the jellyfish, but using them as guides to the exit. They resurfaced and had to head up the steep tunnel, but as expected, it was too slippery for their Corn-Clamber Boots. "Nel, I'm tossing you up there! Find something that can help!" Augustus grabbed the cave child and chucked her up the tunnel.

Nel was about to slide, but she thought fast and leapt to a safe floor with a Rock Candy bushel. She grabbed three pieces and slid back down, giving each one to her friends and sharing a crystal sphere with Augustus. However, they quickly rolled their spheres into the nearby candy corn spikes, enabling them to go up the slope just before the flood filled in. The twin pillars room was in the process of flooding, but Augustus saw several Big Cream Chus floating below. He rolled down to land on one, which bounced him to the next, and the babies followed his example.

Their rock spheres broke against the entrance to the hall where they had to cross a cream pit with Corn-Clambers. The cream pool was mixing with thick cream, so they needed to cross the wall again. They did so one at a time, for the cream droplets fell down faster. Finally, they put on their Cinnamon Suits and swam through the first, final passage. The current helped push them along, but they had to avoid boulders that fell from the ceiling. They could turn right in the passage with all the Gum Cheeps, but thick cream spewed out of the walls and threatened to flood them in.

The crew managed to maneuver around the cream, and from there it was straight up through the shaft that was under the original pool of Sun Cream. _"Mmmmm!"_ Nel lost her grip on Augustus due to his forceful swimming. He looked down in shock, seeing her fall into the rising thick cream. Almost instinctively, he swam down to grab the cavegirl, but the cream caught them as Augustus tried to shake free. _"Just go, you two! Leave this to me!"_

Almost hesitantly, Stewie and Maggie used their boost functions to escape from the pool and climb on shore. "There you are! Where's Augustus?!" Penelope shouted.

They looked as the pool began to bubble, and before their eyes, Augustus and Nel came flying out when it erupted into a fountain. The clouds cleared away and allowed the sun to highlight the delectable wonder. Teams of Shy Guy came climbing up the mountain, yelling joyfully as they jumped into the sunny fountain, relishing in its everlasting cream. The others stared amazed for a second before Augustus and Nel crashed on the ground.

"WOOHOOOO!" The captain cheered, raising the Sun Key skyward. "That was DEEEELICIOUS!"

"The key was plugging the fountain all this time!" Stewie beamed. "Astonishing!"

"I gotta hand it to ya, Captain." Penelope said, licking some cream off her nose. "You know how to go out with a bang. Now, um, about our deal…"

"I think we should take this parley up with Captain Slag, don't you agree?"

"Just what I was thinkin'. The captain's a few miles off on their flagship. If you wanna go and get your plane, I'll meet ya there."

"He doesn't happen to have any showers, does he?"

"Oh, you probably don't want their shower. Robots keep it kinda hot." (End song.)

 **Grayson Household, May 13; night time**

"So there's a hell of a lot of dust under the refrigerator," Ashley said as the family and their guests were having dinner, "I mean HELL of a _lot_ , and I think there was a banana peel."

Wendy glanced at Lee beside her, who was sunk below the table in embarrassment. Ashley continued, "So then Lee, the little sweetie, tried to make a self-cleaning service robot from some old 4x4 tech… It went crazy and tried to lead an uprising at his school! !"

Wendy and the family (minus Lee of course) laughed at the hilarious story. "It killed the pet hamster Nibbles and he got a war funeral!" Leanne exclaimed.

"Uh, Mom? Dad?" Lee spoke weakly. "Can we please not tell embarrassing stories about me to Wendy?"

"You're right, Lee." Leanne said kindly. "It's up to your girlfriend to discover these things on her own."

"I DO NOT like her!" Lee shouted, cheeks red. He glanced at Wendy, who looked taken aback. "I mean, not romantically."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but if Lee doesn't want to talk about these stories, I don't think you should." Wendy spoke politely.

"Okay, we'll stop." Leanne ate a piece of her steak. "So Carla, any funny stories you wanna share about Wendy?"

"Well, while she has been improving in recent days, it is stark contrast compared to how she was." Carla was sitting in a high chair and given a roasted fish. (At first, she considered it offensive.) "Dr. Facilier once tasked her with turning a pencil into a foot-long sandwich by utilizing four different potions in a combination."

"Please don't tell that one!" Wendy clasped her forehead in embarrassment.

"Details aside, she ended up creating a sentient sandwich that was shaped like a skunk, spoke French, and wanted to marry her."

 _"You're telling it."_ Wendy pulled her shirt up over her head.

"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself, Child. Every mistake you make means you learned something new."

"SEE, Leanne? ?" Lee retorted.

"That's just what people say to make their selves feel better." Leanne replied. "It doesn't change the fact that Lord Vacuumus left emotional scars on all of our classmates."

"Not as much as Lee when he found out Pretty Princess Sparklecrown wasn't real." David said.

"I know her!" Wendy beamed – Lee's face was planted against the table. "We used to watch that cartoon in my orphanage."

"Yeah, Lee and Leanne used to watch it, too. Lee was in love with the princess and wanted to buy all her merchandise." David smiled humorously at the memory. "He ended up having way more girl toys than Leanne-"

"You-know-what, I'm-not-hungry." Lee stood up and stomped out of the room. "I'll be outside, hoping I get eaten by a werewolf."

"Fine, but tell Diwata to get off the roof if she's out there." Leanne told him.

"Um… I would also like to be excused if that's okay." Wendy said.

"Sure it is." Ashley smiled. "You probably won't be up for our boring grown-up stories. Okay, so I was playing _Hero's Duty_ online, one of my jackass 'teammates' made a bargain with the enemy and TOTALLY LED ME TO A BOMB TRAP! I ripped my headset in half and-…"

While Ashley continued her "boring" story, Wendy went outside and found Lee lying on the grass, gazing at the stars. "Lee… I'm sorry if I'm ruining your dinner. This probably wasn't how you were hoping it would go."

"Sigh, it isn't your fault, Wendy. They tell stories about me all the time. When we have guests, when they're on the phone, or when they're chatting online. I should've told them to lay off me tonight, but… I guess I hoped they wouldn't. What about you? Do Carla and Facilier make fun of you a lot?"

"Of course not." Wendy lay beside him. "They're really nice and they love me a lot. I'm sure your family loves you, too, Lee. That's why they love to talk about you."

"Yeah, they love to talk about my screw-ups." Lee rolled on his side. "I bet Cheren's family never makes fun of him. Or Sheila's, or Nebula's. They did things that make WAY more exciting stories. I bet it's all their parents talk about with other people."

"I wouldn't know anything about them… but I doubt they're perfect. They're human just like we are."

"Actually, they're half-human."

"Oh." Well, she did say she didn't know much about them. Cheren looked human, last she checked.

"But I get what you're saying, Wendy." Lee returned on his back. "It's just, I'd like the chance to do something memorable. Something that people can be grateful for."

"You already did do something like that, Lee. You rescued me from Professor Bob; you became my friend."

"Oh… I guess I did."

"Were you hoping for someone else's approval?"

"N-NO, that's not what I meant!" he yelled panickingly. "I'm glad I rescued you, Wendy. But compared to what those other people do, it just feels… small."

"That doesn't matter. Small, nice gestures are still nice. I'm really grateful that you saved me… oh." Wendy retraced her words.

"What?" Lee cocked a brow.

"For some reason, I feel like I said that before somewhere." Wendy smiled and blushed. "The small gesture thing."

"Where?"

"…I have no idea." She laughed sheepishly.

"You're weird, Wendy." Lee poked her nose.

"Heh heh heh heh!"

"He he he!" He was delighted by her laugh. They laid back down for a minute. Lee lifted his head up and looked right. "Oh, yep, there she is."

"Who?" Wendy sat up.

"Diwata." He indicated the blonde girl laying on the roof of the next-door house. Her eyes were fixed on the half moon. "Hey, Diwata! Are you gonna turn into a half-wolf? ?"

"SHHHH!" Dee-Dee hissed. "Be quiet, Leeeee! I'm trying to hear the _voices_ of the _mooooon_."

"Dee, you sound like a song from a Disney movie. Leanne says get off the roof."

"But it's sooooooo hiiiiigh. Lee, can we go up to the moon?"

"Lee, I thought the Kids Next Door had a Moonbase?" Wendy inquired.

" _Yes_ , Wendy, we do. Diwata, we go to the moon all the time, why don't we visit it in the morning?"

"BOOOOO! Dee-Dee wanna go up NOW!"

"Then ask Lulu or somebody to take you because Lee-Lee is tired. Sigh, honestly, I'm not sure what her problem is." Lee said to Wendy.

"And she does this every night?"

"Just about. Well, you wanna go back inside? If we're lucky, we'll be in time for the story of how I was Baby New Year."

"Heh heh, you were?" Wendy laughed as they got up to go in.

"I probably was, for all we know."

Diwata huffed at them in annoyance and continued staring at the moon. "Huh?" A tiny star twinkled across the sky. It glittered blue and was unlike any other star. But Dee could see it for what it was.

It was a girl with blue skin and a beautiful pair of glowing wings. They shaped like a butterfly's and were made of water, drawing power from the moon.

The 'star' whisked under the moon and soared beyond the sky. "Will you take me to the moon… Pretty Star?"

 **Negaverse**

The Man With the Red Eye sat with legs crossed, meditating in the gentle night breeze. He was floating 10,000 feet in the sky, but any fear of falling was meaningless to him. …The rapid pounding of a chopper's propeller broke the silence, and Red Eye opened his eye to see his Negaverse counterpart using a helicopter to fly level with him. The wind from the propeller nearly blew Red Eye away. "YOU REALLY DON'T LIKE KEEPING IT SUBTLE." he yelled.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTED TO MEET UP HERE!" Blue Eye shouted. "YOU KNOW I CAN'T FLY!"

"NO MATTER. OUR MEETING WILL COMMENCE AS SCHEDULED. SILENCIO." Red Eye cast a spell to mute the helicopter entirely. He remained afloat outside as he spoke to his Negative. "Sigh… now then: The date in which I had planned to meet my daughter is merely days away. And the dreaded Apocalypse we have long been preparing for is scheduled in half a month. It is almost terrifying how quickly time has passed."

"My sentiments exactly." Blue Eye agreed. His voice was a higher pitch of Red Eye's deep voice. "And your plan is to stage this meeting on a planet called Lunaria, correct?"

"That is true. After we have at long last become acquainted, I will teach Wendy everything I know, and she will join our cause. I plan for her to meet your daughter once again as well."

"I am sure Ydnew will be delighted to hear this… yet, I am concerned that it won't be the reunion you anticipate. Would your daughter accept your violent tendencies? What if she doesn't share your perspective? If she were to fear you?"

"I am positive she will understand my plight. I would not put it past her to feel resent for me, given my method in 'raising' her. But she will not hate me for long."

"So you say. I just advise you to be careful what you wish for. Since we are on the topic… when did you plan to attack the World Government?"

"I do not wish to create more panic while the Quest for Seven Lights is still taking place. And yet, I cannot expect the Leaders will sit idly by for much longer. Set a date for May 25. Or -25 Yam in your case."

"I will do just that. But next time… could we please meet on the ground?"

"Hm hm, very well." Red Eye smiled. The deafening chopper pounding returned when he dispelled the Silencio, watching as his Negative flew back to the earth. "Perhaps now would be a good time to speak to Dr. Facilier. I should get Arlon to prepare."

 **Slag's Fleet**

The Marzipan Pirates met back with Penelope in the sky, a few miles from Buttermilk Building. With her permission, the biplane was allowed to make land on the captain's flagship. She led the five through a bar of loud, drunken robot pirates, who spoke in the typical pirate turn-of-phrase and engaged in mindless brawls. "It be MOI turn to play with the Princess Barbie Rainbow Set!"

"Don't gawk at me in such a tone, ye rapticious rapscallion! Er Ay will haul this cutlass up yer artificial spine and see ye capsize!"

"They certainly embrace the piratey tradition." Augustus said.

"More along the lines that they're men." Penelope replied. "So where did you say that cavegirl was from?"

"The Land Before Time, where do you think?"

"You mean to tell me you actually traveled through time?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." He smirked, starting a new lollipop.

"Just make sure you watch out for her. I hear that people who travel through time and stay in a different time era too long get killed."

"Killed?"

"Yeah, because the universe demands it or something. It upsets the balance of things, ruins the Space-Time Continuum, you know all that fun stuff."

"But when you think about it, aren't we _all_ traveling through a river of time?"

"Nice poetry, Captain. But taking shortcuts through that river is another thing."

They arrived at Captain Slag's cabin, where the Rusty Pete twins were playing Tug-o-War over Termina Slag's Mask. "Oi'm pretty sure that I'M the Termina Pete!"

"My backup hard-drive you're Termina Pete! You just want the mask ALL to yourself!"

"Your backup hard-drive is nothing but cheap adult films on the Internet! Gimme back me captain's mask!"

"It's MY captain's mask!"

"STOW IT!" Captain Slag bonked them both on the head. "Why fight over that dumb old mask when the REAL Slag be right before yer eyes? You love and respect the same grog-chugging captain… SO LEARN TA SHARE!"

"WE WILL, CAPTAIN!"

"Ahhh, Penelope!" Slag marched up to the visitors. "Ay see you've returned with Lolly-Licking Augustus."

"It's… _Stone Fist_ … Augustus." He bit his lollipop.

"Iron beats stone." Slag raised his own fist. "It make no difference to me. Seeing that you are here, ye must have agreed to the terms of my parley."

"'Agreed' is a strong word, Slaggy. Let's talk business. First off, how do I know you aren't working for Lord Licorice?"

"An understandable concern. Boys?"

Some pirates stepped out from behind a curtain, holding four Blackberry Troops bound and gagged. "Took a little effort, shakin' down laddies with the most info. And if that ain't proof enough, maybe this will convince ya. Kill that one." One of the pirates raised his sword to cut a guard's neck-

"NO NO NO!" Augustus stopped him. "It's fine, I believe you!"

"Beautiful." Slag signaled the pirates to take the guards to the brig. Another crewmate brought him a gallon of grog, which the captain chugged down. "So, ye want to talk business then? First matter regarding, what of the Lost Candies? How many you have?"

"On hand… four. One of them is being looked after by someone else."

"May I see them?"

"Will you steal them?"

"'ey now, Ay called a parley. I may be made of iron, but Ay'm a man of my word. You've nothing to fear."

"Sigh… Let him see them, Stewie."

The baby took out his Infi-Cube and shot the four Lost Candies onto Slag's desk. He observed the legendary sweets with interest. "Most fascinating. And what did ye say the candies were used for, again?"

"He thinks that they're parts to a machine." Penelope answered.

"A machine, ye say?" Slag picked the Cupcake Core up. "These wee little candies construct a device most foul?"

"What makes you think it's most foul?" Augustus raised a brow.

"Har har har." Slag put the cupcake down. "I have a proposal for ya, Captain August. It's plainly obvious that the World Government fears the existence of these delicacies. Or Lord Licorice would not have been sent to secure them, perhaps destroy them. If it truly be a machine that these sweets conceive, then such a device may be devastating beyond compare. Even more than the horrors of the Eight Sugary Wonders. To seek the Lost Candies would be to seek to create this machine. So here is my plan, Augustus: we construct this machine together, and _destroy_ the World Government."

"Destroy… the Government?"

"You see, Lad, the quota for a space pirate to become Emperor isn't just a handful of islands: 'tis a handful of _planets_. And fer thousands of years, no space pirate could conquer this lonely world because of the Government's power. Some pirates had the bolts to challenge them, such as Golden Fist Marine or Big Mom herself. But the Lost Candies may provide us with the key. If Captain Slag would be the man to destroy Earth's mighty Government, Ay will be recognized as Space Pirate Emperor!"

"Time out, Captain!" Penelope spoke up. "I thought we were just gonna sell the candies and give Augustus part of the profit! Taking down the World Government… isn't that kind of much?"

"If having your name known across galaxies be too much for ye, then by all means, walk the plank and lose the opportunity. And you, Augustus, will forever be known as the man who helped make it all possible. If lubbers were to mess with ye, they will tremble, knowing they will have to tango with Emperor Slag. I acknowledge yer skill, boy. It is rare that I say such a thing. And Ay'm sure that the feeling's mutual."

"Hm hm hm, you wish!" Augustus held the dry lolli stick between his fingers. "The pirate I respect most of all is Sunny Fist Sheila Frantic." He flicked the stick into Slag's cup.

The captain remembered the half-raccoon lass that kicked him beyond Galaxia like a football. "Grrrrrrrr!" He boiled so hotly that his grog caught fire. Rusty Pete put it out with an extinguisher. "Well, we all be entitled to our opinion… _wretch_. What is your response to my proposal?"

"I was never planning to destroy anyone. I'm collecting the Lost Candies for a friend. But to tell the truth… even I'm wondering what he intends to use them for." _Or what the fairies planned to do with them._

"Then why don't we call this decision a stalemate? How 'bout, instead, we aid you in locating the sixth and final candy? I'm sure ye already know where it lie?"

The four kids and Penelope looked at Augustus. They were eager to hear the location of the last Lost Candy. "Actually… Luviro never told me where the last candy was found. I only knew the five of them."

"Then _you_ need to ask Luviro where it is." Penelope affirmed.

"I will, but I don't want you guys following me. And when I find out, I can't promise I won't try to get it myself."

"A fair trade, but when Lord Licorice comes a hollerin' and shootin' his pistol, ye'll beg for Captain Slag. But whether you hunt it first or not, ye'd best return to me soon. Do we have an accord?" He reached his hand out.

"Hmm… Accord." Augustus shook it.

"Excellent. Now, Penelope will escort you back to your vessel."

"No thanks, we can find our way." The teen winked, recollecting the four Lost Candies before he led his crew away.

"Augustus, you can't really mean you trust them." Stewie said.

"I'm not stupid, Stewie. I'm not even up for destroying the Government. But either way, we'll have to fight with Slag or Licorice over the candies. We'll accept his bargain for now and cross it when the time comes. I just hope Luviro is still alive…"

 **Climbers House; night of May 14**

Carla showed Wendy a card of a seaweed-like plant with roots that looked like rat tails. "Gillyweed! Found in the Mediterranean." Wendy answered. Carla nodded and picked another card from the deck. This one showed a golden leaf. "A Twileaf, found in Twilight Town, Pennsylvania." Carla nodded and got a card with a yellow plant that curved like a worm, and grew from twin leaves. "That's a Heart Plant!"

Carla shook her head. She pointed at the tip of one of its leaves. It looped and crossed over itself. "Ohhhh. A _Hurt_ Plant."

"Very good, Child." Carla smiled approvingly. "You know your Herbology well."

"I do my best." She shrugged.

"WENDY, WENDY!" Sonny and Donna bounced into her room. "Dr. Facilier has a visitor, come down and see!" Donna yelled.

"He's all blue, like you!" Sonny said excitedly. "We think he's your dad!"

"REALLY?!" Wendy immediately jumped off the bed and raced to the basement.

"Wendy's father is here? Is this true?" Carla asked, feeling this was too sudden.

Wendy tripped in going down to the basement and broke through the door, but she quickly got to her feet. "DAD, is it really… you?"

The man standing above her had blue skin, a long white mustache, and a black suit. "You must be Miss Wendy, I presume?" He held a gloved hand down. "We are well met. My name is Arlon, and I hail from the Moon Planet, Lunaria."

"BLUE MAN GROUP!" The Ice Climbers slid down the stairs and jumped on Wendy's back, shaking his hand.

"Are you gonna dance for us?" Sonny asked quickly.

"Are you an alien? ?" followed Donna.

"Is Wendy an alien disguised as a human?"

"Are you gonna turn US blue?"

 _"Answer before we submit you to torture!"_

"PLEASE get off of her." Carla ordered. The twins complied as Wendy got up. "Sir, are you really Wendy's father?"

"Heh heh heh, no." Facilier laughed. "They got the wrong idea. This gentleman is Arlon, and he was sent here by Wendy's father."

"My father sent you?" Wendy asked. "But why?"

Arlon cleared his throat and spoke professionally, "It is at the humble request of Master 'Man With the Red Eye' that I assume the role of escort to Miss Marvell, Dr. Facilier, and these two delinquents, and ensure a safe and pleasant travel to my humble homeworld, wherein you shall-"

"He's going to take us to meet yo' dad!" Facilier exclaimed.

"REALLY?! ?" Wendy's face never looked brighter.

"THE KING OF BLUE MEN!" the twins cheered.

"YEP, this kind old servant is taking us to Lunaria!" The doctor patted Arlon's shoulder. "According to him, your dad's already up there, and he ain't leavin' until you come!"

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Wendy grabbed both men in a hug. "THANK YOU, this is the happiest day of my life, I've always wanted to meet my parents, you have no idea how grateful I feel right now!"

"Yes, well, be that as it may, I must lay down a few ground rules!" Arlon stated. Wendy pulled away from them. "First and foremost, Lunaria is a very peaceful and sacred place. I want no roughhousing up there of any sort, understand? Secondly-"

 _DING DONG._ The doorbell rang. Thinking it was a customer, Facilier approached the portal-door and peeped through the eye hole. "Some kids… Wait a minute. Ain't that Sector RZ?"

"Lemme see." Wendy came over and stood on her tippy-toes. Indeed, Lee Andrew and his friends were out there. "It is!" She opened the door quickly.

"Wendy, hey!" Lee and his three friends stepped in right away.

"Wow, Doc, you really changed up the shop." Lulu said, studying the change in décor and size.

"We are a little busy at the moment." Carla said strictly. "Can we help you?"

"We haven't seen Diwata since last night!" Lee shouted.

"I TOLD you to tell her to get off the roof." Leanne scolded.

"SHUT UP. Sigh, we looked in town and on Moonbase, but we couldn't find her. We were wondering if the doctor could see her with his crystal ball."

"We have some hair from Dee's brush!" Leanne held up three blonde hair strands.

"I'll see what I can do." Facilier went to his table and took out a small bottle of liquid, placing the hair inside it. Some yellow smoke floated out as the doctor waved it around the crystal ball. Clouds swirled around inside the ball before they cleared to reveal a full moon. "Are you sure she ain't on Moonbase? 'Cause that's all I can guess."

"Well, she wasn't." Denny Whitby argued. "We checked the rest of the moon in case you ask."

Arlon stared at the image more closely. "Wait a moment… that is not Earth's moon. It is… Lunaria."

"Lunaria?" Lee asked.

"He said it was his home planet." Wendy replied.

"Yes, but the planet is untraceable to anyone who does not know where it is." Arlon said. "She would need the guidance of someone from Lunaria to go there."

"You don't think she was kidnapped, do you?" Leanne asked.

"Why would anyone kidnap Dee and take her to some moon planet?" Lee replied.

"It does seem ludicrous." Arlon agreed. "Or… is it?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Hmmm… I did not plan to take so many children to Lunaria… but I suspect you will join us to Lunaria with the intention of finding your friend. Let it be known that once you arrive… you will be sworn to secrecy."

* * *

 **Penelope is from _Sly Cooper_ – good old master of disguises. :P Sorry to cut this short, but I must go. Next time, we head to Lunaria. Kids, don't swim in cream.**

 _"PEOPLE OF EARTH, YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED."_ A tiny robot with vacuum hands stared at the readers with evil red eyes. _"Lord Vacuumus will return! The Dust Bunny Empire will rise and filthify everything! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha-"_

"Is zat a lovely dear I hear?" A sandwich shaped like a skunk appeared and spoke in a French accent. "Oh hohn, c'mere, my delectable fillie." He felt attracted to Vacuumus.

 _"Aaaah! Desist! Desist!"_ The robot fled.

"I will hug you, und kiss you, and we will be wed in ze spiciest of sauces."

 _"Noooooooo!"_


	26. Father

**This chapter comes after Chapter 56, and this Lunaria Mini-Arc will all be before Chapter 57. Some events in Chapter 56 will connect to these Side Stories, so refresh your memory if you need to. If not, then let us take flight. (P.S. Made some edits to the end of last chapter, so in case you get confused.)**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-26: Father_**

 **Lunaria**

After thousands of years, she has returned home. She remembered the way, and was delighted to set her feet on the planet's soft blue soil. Lapis Lazuli breathed Lunaria's rich scent. After so many years, she feared the smell of salt water would never leave her nose. There were people and children around, and they looked at her. They had blue skin like her own, some had blue hair, some purple, but the elders had white. Lapis stood out with her pair of glowing, watery butterfly wings. She was just the same as the ice-blue, glittering statue of herself in the town park, posing with one leg bent back as fountain water poured from her gem.

"I should've told them how weird that looked." Lapis blushed.

"Look!" A round-headed boy with white hair pointed. "It's the Fairy Princess! It's Princess Lapis!"

"Princess Lapiiiiiis!" A girl with a yellow dress, long blue hair, and no shoes leapt over gently, the planet's low gravity making her light.

"Ha ha ha! Hello, everyone!" Lapis grinned brightly. "It's great to be back!"

"Where did you go, Princess Lapis?" asked a smaller girl with purple hair curved up in points.

"I was on an… extended vacation to Oceana, Earth. So here is some advice regarding that: DO NOT GO TO EARTH."

"Is Earth bad?" the round boy asked.

"YES, and it's UNBEARABLE! Full of annoying sentient sponges, nagging whale gods, and adorable babies that only LOOK sweet and innocent, but turn out to be MONSTERS! Ugh, I NEVER wanna see another Earthling for as long as I-" A ship crashed behind them. Lapis whipped around in fright, as did the other park-goers.

It was a KND S.C.A.M.P.E.R., damaged only slightly from crashing in low-G, and a blonde girl with chocolate-brown eyes stumbled out. "I made iiiiiit, mooooon…" She collapsed.

 **Cleveland Rooftops**

Sector RZ and Wendy's group left the basement emporium through the portal door and exited to the alley where the original emporium was located. Arlon's ship which he had stolen from Zordoom and Sector RZ's C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. were parked on the city roofs. "I have been under your father's service for roughly two months." Arlon said to Wendy. "He freed me from my cell in Zordoom for the purpose that I would bring you to Lunaria."

"Oh, that's right, you were one of Viridi's thugs." Lee Andrew remembered. "How do we know you aren't out for revenge?"

"Mistress Viridi has already been foiled. Honestly, even if I lusted for vengeance, I do not have the resources to seek it. I suppose it is rare for you children to encounter such a competent villain of my stature."

"More like a fraidy villain." Leanne retorted.

"Yeah, why did you even agree to help us?" Lee asked.

"For the same reason you will be sworn to secrecy should we arrive there. But I was only requested to serve as escort to Miss Wendy's party. It is your duty to attempt to keep up on that shabby camper."

"It's a school bus."

"A shabby mode of transportation all the same. Now, if we are all prepared, we must make flight for Lunaria."

"Dr. Facilier?" Wendy spoke politely. "Would it be alright if I rode with Lee's friends?"

"I cannot agree to this, Child." Carla said. "It just… looks like a school bus with rockets attached to it. How would it even get beyond the atmosphere?"

"Hey, don't underestimate our 4x4 technology!" Lulu exclaimed. "They're even better than they used to be thanks to GKND's tech. We even have a Warpdrive Key to zip us through hyperspace!"

"Yeah, Carla. And besides, it wouldn't be the first time I rode in one of their ships." Wendy blushed. "At least this time, I won't be piloting it."

"It's alright by me!" Facilier grinned. "More room in there than this smelly old prison ship."

"WE'RE GOING TO SPACE SCHOOL!" Sonny and Donna jumped in the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S..

"Why must children insist on making matters complicated?" Arlon sighed. "Very well. But I should hope your piloting skills are of the highest quality."

After both ships took off from the atmosphere, Arlon set his to warp through hyperspace. Sector RZ entered the warp gate after him.

 **Florae Galaxy**

They reappeared in a region of space that was unrealistically blue. Everywhere looked like a night sky—the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. dodged right and barely hit a small moon. "The moon shrunk, the moon shrunk!" Donna shouted.

"Or maybe… we're gigantic? ?" Sonny questioned.

 _"We're going to step on everybody."_ They both said with devious smiles.

"On the contrary, children, we are at the edge of the Lunar Field." Arlon said to them through the transmit. "It is a vast field of moons that surround and protect Lunaria."

"How does Galaxia have room for all these planets?" Lee asked.

"This is not Galaxia." Arlon said in aggravation. "The Florae Galaxy is close to Galaxia's borders, however, and it is here where Lunaria floats. Stay close to me or you shall be lost among the Maze of Moons."

"A Maze of Moons?" Denny repeated. "This would be the most amazing thing in the universe if I wasn't so darned confused! Why in the world would Diwata think to come here? And how would she even know how to solve this maze?"

"It's just a bunch of moons." Lee said doubtingly. "We're basically looking for the most gihugic one out here, right?"

"Unless Lunaria is super-duper tiny." Leanne replied.

 _"Squash it."_ The Climbers hit their hammers together.

"Yes, it may seem like a simple maze to navigate," Arlon said contrarily, "but there is a spell in effect, wherein you must navigate a specific path, lest you be lost forever. We Lunarians instinctively know the correct path, and the illusion of being lost does not work for us."

"Wendy, are you sure you wouldn't rather ride in the other ship?" Carla asked.

"Carla, there's nothing to worry about. Mr. Arlon will guide us across." Wendy smiled with faith. "We'll find Diwata… and we'll find my dad, too." (Play "Rainbow Road" from _Mario Kart 7_!)

 _Stage B-22: Lunaria_

 _Mission: Get to Lunaria (even though it's the stage name :P)._

 _Act 1: The Lunar Field_

The ships flew over a large moon and under two smaller moons before Arlon listed slightly to the left, then right, passing two more big moons. They entered a field where moons moved around and bumped into each other like pool balls. Arlon turned his ship sideways and slipped between two moons on a collision course, and Sector RZ quickly boosted their ship to squeeze between them. "Apologies, children, some moons are rather impatient!" Arlon yelled.

"You're leading us through here to try and kill us!" Lee shouted.

Arlon was flying close to the bottom of a large moon, and the kids watched as he performed a somersault all the way around the moon before flying straight up. The operatives mimicked the action and entered a greater sea of moons, where they had to quickly turn left, diagonal right, do an overhead loop around a small moon, and then boost through five pairs of moons that would bounce against each other. The next region had three columns of moons, the other two drifting up while the center one's moons moved down. Following Arlon's example, the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. slowed down through the first column, boosted through the second, and swerved left around the third.

They entered a cluster of moons, where they had to turn their ships sideways to go through a canyon, upside-down when the canyon became horizontal, turned further clockwise through another vertical canyon, and when they could revert to rightside-up, they flew upward. "Even if space did have directions, it certainly doesn't in this mess." Leanne said.

"What if each of these moons had its own gravity?" Denny asked. "I'm gonna be sick."

 _"Uuuuuh… awwwwww…"_ Wendy's face was unnaturally blue.

"WENDY!" Lee exclaimed. "YOU'RE a Lunarian?!"

"I don't believe that is the case…" Carla said.

Arlon's ship was flying toward a bigger moon that was raining little comets at them. He performed numerous barrel-rolls to bounce the comets away, so when the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. was forced to mimic, Wendy's sickness only increased. "Child, this spacecraft has a stationary gravity." Carla told her. "If it's the sights that are dizzying you, please close your eyes."

"No, Carla… it's pretty."

"Just remember who's gonna have to clean up." Lee stated.

They flew through a ring of small moons before reaching the big moon, and they had to speed around it three times, still avoiding its comets before they rocketed further skyward. They were soaring over the Sea of Moons, an endless field of glimmering blue. The stars sparkled in the indigo sky, creating many a constellation – a five-point star, a flower, a fish, a waving hand, the Triforce. "Oh, no, those aren't stars creating the constellations. They are moons." Arlon said. "We must fly into that one there."

The constellation in question was a smiling crescent moon. Arlon turned his ship diagonal to fly through the group of small moons, and when the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. flew through, a gigantic blue moon seemed to materialize several miles away. "Well, children, I am almost surprised you were able to follow my directions. You have technically won the right to land upon my home planet: Lunaria."

They were minutes from entering the atmosphere of the great blue orb, and it was getting close surprisingly fast, given its size and distance… wait a minute. "Just kidding." Arlon flew around the ordinary moon, so the kids followed. "THAT is my home planet, Lunaria." The real planet was, unmistakably, a greater distance away, and had various tones of blue that represented land, sea, and mountains. "You wouldn't believe how many hapless visitors crashed on that other one."

"It's one way to single them out…" Lee commented. They closed in on the planet with very transfixed expressions, and could only imagine what beauty lay on the actual surface. Their ships did not even burn upon entering the atmosphere, nor did the sky change any different from how it looked in space. It was like they were simply landing on a huge rock in space. (End song.)

Both ships landed in an open space within some hills. "BLEEEEHHH!" Wendy finally puked after stepping off the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S..

"AAAH!" Arlon freaked. "We've been here for merely two seconds and you've already defiled my planet's soil!"

"Oh, get a grip on yourself!" Lee shouted. "Don't act like no one on Lunaria gets sick!"

"THEY DON'T!"

Facilier helped wipe Wendy's mouth. "I'm sorry…" she said humbly.

"At least you didn't soil my ship." Leanne patted her back. "I'm proud of you, Wendy."

"Sigh, let's just move on, shall we?" Arlon sighed. "The village where Master Red Eye promised to meet us is up ahead."

Lee was first to follow him- "Whooooaaa!" he felt his feet lift off the ground, floating for a second before plopping on his front.

"Yes, the gravity is a little… lacking, compared to how you are familiar with it on Earth. You may need some time to adjust."

"Wheeeeee!" Lulu leapt several feet high. "I jump higher than Weegeeeee!"

"Weegee?" The Luigi mutant peeped from behind a rock.

"No, Weegee, back in your hole."

"Weegee?" He came out more.

"No, Weegee."

"Weegee!"

"I SAID NO!"

"Weeeeegeeeee." Weegee sunk down in depression.

"He was in _Firstborn_ , by the way." Donna told the readers.

Lulu, Denny, and the Climbers embraced in the low gravity by jumping carefreely, while the others tried to keep their selves steady while following Arlon. The butler guided them to a cliff over a great river of blue, still water. Across the river were a series of tall islands that all formed a village. There were houses with gardens of blue, pretty grass, lamp posts shaped like moon phases, and some people were laying on lawn chairs and getting "moontans."

Arlon waved his hands and seemed to catch the mystic blue light, forming stairwell platforms. "Watch your step, if you please." He leapt up the stairs gracefully. His guests followed, but kept their eyes down to see the floating see-through steps. "On Lunaria, we practice the art of moonbending. To outsiders, it may sound like our powers are merely limited to the surface of the moon, but in actuality, a moon is more than just a spherical rock above a planet's atmosphere. An ethereal energy flows from the moon, touches all that it shines upon. The moonbenders are able to harness and control that energy."

"An ethereal energy that shines on all…" Wendy spoke lowly. "Mr. Arlon… are you talking about magic?"

"A most educated presumption. You see, the moons are the primary gateways to a realm called the Netherverse, which is concentrated with powerful Space Chi. The moons regulate that chi, keep it from leaking too destructively. And the output that has resulted is what we call Moon Chi. From Moon Chi, we are able to construct shapes, manipulate gravity… We have thought as moonbending as a sub-form of spacebending, a supernatural sub-form at that. And over centuries, other cultures have developed the form called 'magic.' The moons were a primary source of magic energy, the stars even. However, Moon Chi and magic… are used in very different ways."

"Ohhhhh I'm confuuuuused." Wendy held her head.

Their pathway took them over the village and provided a lovely view of it. Lunarian children were pointing and looking up at the strangers. Like Arlon, they were blue-skinned humanoids, but with various colors of hair, like purple and blue. Wendy stroked a few strands of her hair. Perhaps… she was Lunarian? "Mr. Arlon… how did you say my father got here?"

"He had his methods… As a reminder, you children must be sworn to secrecy."

"Secrecy to what?!" Lee exclaimed. "How to get here? Because **I** won't remember that specific path!"

"Patience, young man. You will learn momentarily."

They set foot on an island with no houses, and a pointed hill that was more like a small mountain. A figure was floating above the point, turned away in a position they assumed was cross-legged. The being had silver hair and a flowing black cape. A breeze that they hadn't felt before began to blow gently.

The kids slowly stepped up the hill, with Wendy and Carla going first. The breeze seemed to pick up. The others stayed behind and watched Wendy go on her own. She stopped a few steps from the tip of the peak. The man sensed her presence behind him. His white hand reached into a pocket and came out with a purple locket.

"This planet is a wonderful place… isn't it." He spoke with a deep voice. "It's so wonderful that you wonder why it must be secluded from the outside. It was a decision of this planet's founders, so many ages ago. To protect it from the evils of outside. The people and children play and live happily… and yet, their freedom cannot be shared with the outside. But that does not matter… The air of this planet is too fragrant for words. Why not embrace in its beauty? I knew it was the place for us to meet."

The floating man turned around. The right half of his white face was concealed by a mask, only showing his left red eye. He set his sandaled feet on the ground. He clicked open the locket. Inside was a picture of a sleeping, adorable baby with blue hair. "I missed you… my child."

A storm of emotions flowed through Wendy's mind. She just couldn't comprehend, couldn't understand this being true. His face and hair bared no resemblance to Wendy, but his red eye and pointed ears looked strikingly similar, and his smile was warm and inviting. Carla looked between him and her master—the silence was tense for all of them.

"…Dad…" Tears flowing from her eyes, Wendy ran up and grabbed him in a hug, which he returned. Red Eye held the child close, filled with joy over his daughter's happiness. They had both been awaiting this for a long time. Dr. Facilier, Sector RZ, and the Ice Climbers felt a warmth in their hearts. Wendy has finally met the father she never knew and always wanted to know.

Lee examined the dark-cloaked man. There was something familiar about him. "WAIT A SECOND, I know you, you're that… GUY! That GUY that… worked for Ganondorf! Wh-What's his name—VAATI! !"

Wendy pulled away and stared at him. "Vaati? I've heard of you. Mr. Ezlo talked about you."

"So, you met my old master? Then… you must know a great deal about me already."

"I think lots of people do." Carla stepped forward and told him. "Your alias appears frequently on the wanted posters. And the Government has drawn connections between you and Wendy."

Vaati was a tad startled by her voice—he looked around and saw that it belonged to a winged cat. "Oh-ho, excuse me." He blushed. "I did not see you there. You…?"

"Carla. And according to Wendy, I'm an 'Exceed' or something."

"That would be the first time I've heard of that. But you are correct. I made myself an enemy of the world for following my philosophy. It is a fate I chose. But never one that I desired for you, Wendy." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I left you at that orphanage so that your fate would not be bound by your parents'. You would know freedom. But it seems those fools at the World Government sought to detain you, anyway. I have endangered you, Child."

"I don't care about that!" Wendy embraced him again. "All I wanted was a family! Somewhere to call home, where I would be accepted."

"And now you do." Vaati hugged her. "Now that you are here, I want to teach you everything I know."

"Everything?"

"Yes. Airbending, magic, how to battle, and my dreams. I entrusted Dr. Facilier with teaching you only a small portion, so that you would be prepared. I would love you… to be my student. Will you?"

"Yes, of course!" Wendy said excitedly. "I want to learn EVERYTHING from you! I waited for you for so long, I don't wanna disappoint you!"

"Excuse me." Both turned to Carla. She bore a very inquiring glare. "But if you're Wendy's father… perhaps you may tell us who her mother is?"

"Yeah, yeah! Who IS Wendy's mom?" Lee exclaimed. "Someone we know too, I bet!"

"Well, Mr. Vaati?" repeated Carla.

"Hmph…" Vaati smirked, his eye closed. "Your mother's name… is Annie Wilconson."

"CALLED IT! ! !" Denny screamed.

"Annie, huh?" said Carla.

"Wonderful woman. Delightful. Heheh, she really had that fangirl about her back in the day." Vaati chuckled at the memory. "They made a show about the Kids Next Door's exploits, and boy was your mother obsessed with it. Even wrote fanfictions."

"Master Vaati." Arlon spoke seriously. "As heartwarming as this reunion is, we had another matter to discuss. _Where is Master Crest_?"

"Oh!" Vaati's white cheeks reddened. "Yes, well, it seems Crest grew a little antsy when we arrived. So I… took him to a diner."

 **New Moon Dining**

"NOM NOM GOBBLE GLOP, GLOOP!" There were tall stacks of bowls and plates standing on one table, where a blue fat impish creature with a crescent-shaped head gobbled up a bowl of large blueberries. "OHH, they only grow 'em right here! HEY LADY, WHERE'S MY MOON PIE?!"

"Almost ready, Master Crest!" a chubby yellow-haired waitress said frantically.

"NOOO, what have you done?!" Arlon shouted, running to lift the moonberries out of Crest's grasp. "The Young Lord's appetite is RUINED! If he weren't able to change his own body shape, this would be a DISASTER! Master, just how much have you eaten?"

"Bleventy…hundred… and one." Crest moaned sickly. He perked when he realized: "Wait a minute… that doesn't end in zero. It's not perfectly round! NOOOOOOO!" The creature cried and rolled around the restaurant floor on his chubby belly. "Why why why whyyyyy…"

"Soooo… what is this again?" Lee Andrew asked.

Arlon caught the Young Lord and lifted him for the tourists to see. "Ahem, may I introduce you to Lord Crest. The Firstborn of Moon."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! FIRSTBORN?!"

"The _Tenth_ Firstborn, as a matter of fact."

"TENTH FIRSTBORN?!" the operatives screamed.

"All right, this is COMPLETELY messed up!" Leanne shouted. "We grew up knowing there were Eight Firstborn. EIGHT… FREAKING… FIRSTBORN! Then Sector V tells us about a random MUSIC Firstborn, NOW WE HAVE THIS RANDOM MOON THING?! I mean… WHERE did he come from?!"

"It happened two years ago." Vaati explained. "One of my subordinates, Mikaela Chariton, had to take her daughter to the hospital on Mother's Day. Her daughter had attempted to show her proficiency in psychicbending by creating an Imaginary Friend. When Mika returned to the hospital room… she found Crest and brought him to me, thinking he spawned from Sunni's Imagination. It was a while before I realized… his powers and anatomy matched that of a Firstborn. And I was astonished to think that an undeveloped psychicbender's powers could create such a creature."

"After Sir Vaati freed me from my prison, I declined his request to take his daughter to Lunaria." Arlon followed. "But then he showed me to Master Crest… so I was forced to obey."

"I had no intention of harming Crest, and I followed Arlon's wishes to protect him. A Firstborn is not born in the universe every other week. If word got out that a new one just appeared, the universe would descend into chaos, people will jump at the chance to seize him, research him, harness his power! Just like Dimentia once did to Jirachi. The Firstborn are the most powerful beings in the universe."

"And you let him just casually come to a diner and casually eat food like… a fat rich person." Lee commented.

"BUUUUURRRP." Crest deflated like a balloon, returning to a slimmer stature.

"If only I could do that." Lulu frowned at her chubby body.

"Oh, I can help you!" Crest floated over and touched Lulu with a blue twinkle on his finger, and she went from round to slender in seconds.

"AAAAAAAHH! I'm so tiny! !"

"You're just skinny, silly!" Lee laughed.

"YOU'RE A SAINT, Lord Crest! !" Lulu grabbed and hugged the Firstborn. "No more exercising or gym for me!"

"As impressive as that is, that can't be _all_ he can do." Leanne said. "I mean… he's a Firstborn! He must have phenomenal cosmic… moonbending or something!"

"Indeed, Master Crest is brimming with potential." Arlon replied. "But a Firstborn must not use its power rashly. We must wait for Crest's Guardian, whoever he or she may be."

"A bender must not conceal itself." Vaati said. "A bender must be free to exert its power, express itself. I kept Crest a secret for this long, but you must allow him freedom on his own planet."

"I will decide when he is ready for that." Arlon picked Crest back up. "He is not my child, but he is certainly not yours. Why don't you attend to your own daughter?"

"Yes… perhaps I shall." Vaati said with slight resentment for him. He turned to Wendy with a welcoming smile, "Shall we go someplace to talk in private?"

"I would love to! But, Dad, one of Lee's friends went missing and we think she came to this planet. So, I wanted to help them-"

Facilier touched her shoulder. "You leave finding Diwata to me, sweetie. Y'all just spend time with yo' dad. I know you've both been looking forward to this."

"Yeah, Wendy, don't worry about us." Lee grinned. "Go bond with daddy!"

"Hehe… Well, if you say so." Wendy grinned.

They went outside the restaurant as Vaati helped Wendy onto his shoulders. "Hold on tight." Fast as the wind, Vaati dashed across the indigo fields, dodging rock after rock, cliff after cliff, over the mountains, and was gone. The joy and energy Wendy felt was unparalleled.

Dr. Facilier held up his cane and called, "Point Me Diwata Uno!" The stick whipped in a certain direction. "This way, kids!" He led the way for Sector RZ.

Before Arlon had a chance to follow them, the restaurant waitress cornered him, smiling bubbly. "And will you be paying for Master Crest's meal?"

"Uh-…" Arlon looked behind the waitress. _DUN DUN DUUUUN!_ A huge Lunarian with giant arms punched his palm, glaring murderously at Arlon. His shirt read _Lunarian Resources_. "Y…Yes. Let me fetch my checkbook."

 **On a moonlit hill**

From here, one could see the ocean as it stretched for miles, reflecting the light of the planet's hundreds of moons. Vaati marched up the hill with Wendy still clinging to his back. "I know I sound too excited, Dad, but I just have so many questions to ask you!"

"Ask me anything, Dear." Vaati chuckled.

"Okay well first, what about my hair, why is my hair blue, I know I have your red eyes, but your hair isn't blue, is my mom's hair blue, or did your hair turn white from old age, not that being old is bad, but-"

"Calm yourself, Child! Neither me or Annie have blue hair. Before we found out she was pregnant, I treated her to a wine called Ocean's Marvel. It was very intoxicating." He chuckled. "We think it resulted in your hair turning blue. It's a beautiful color, isn't it? It goes great with this landscape."

"It does, I agree." Wendy stroked her hair. "So, Mr. Vaat- I mean… Dad." Wendy would have to get used to that word. "There's so much I want to ask. Like… where do you come from; who were your parents?"

"A very good question. My parents abandoned me too, Wendy. Left me in the care of my master, Ezlo."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I do not know their reason; Ezlo claimed to have found me on his doorstep, but because they left me, I had taken the first step to knowing freedom. True, Ezlo became a father figure of sorts. Taught me much of what I know about magic. As to where I come from, like many Minish, I was born and raised in the Tree of Beginning. In time, I would convert to a human size to better pursue my goals, and even Ezlo came to do so."

"A Minish? That means… I'm half-Minish." Wendy figured. "And I'm also half-"

"Nimbi—I mean, human, yes. Keh, sorry." He flushed red. "My mind races around so much, my tongue begins to jump, it's really an odd habit."

"Ha ha ha! I get that way, too! We really have a lot in common, Dad."

"I know, and I'm very proud of how you've grown, Wendy. I have clearly missed my chance to give you a piggyback ride…"

Wendy just remembered she had been riding him all this time. "Dad, if I'm too heavy for you, I can walk on my own."

"I wish I could disagree, but…" Vaati was shaking, "you weigh a lot more than I anticipated." Wendy blushed. "I feel like I might fall apart! Heh-!" He fell over and broke into dust.

"DAD! !" Wendy panicked.

But then the dust swirled into a center, recreating Vaati's body in the form of wind. "Logia airbending." He leaped over his daughter, reforming his physical body. "It's very handy."

Vaati shot to the sky as fast as wind, and Wendy gaped as his body dispersed into such. As a long gust of wind, he soared around and around, far across the field and coming back to breeze past Wendy. She whipped around as he soared miles over the cliff, that gust splitting into three, forming cool shapes, before coming back together. Wendy smiled admiringly as Vaati's upper half reformed above her, his lower half remaining a whirlwind. "When you're a Logia, Wendy, you know all the greatest power your element brings. For us airbenders, it truly means knowing breath." He reformed his feet and landed before her. "I bet you're a great airbender. I hope you will join me on the wind in a few years."

That brought up another question in Wendy's mind. "Mr. V-Dad, who was the first Logia? I mean, I read his name's Acnologia, and he was a mage, but I still don't…"

"Hm hm. So full of questions, as expected of you. Acnologia was a moonbender."

"A moonbender? So he was Lunarian?"

"No, according to ancient scripts, Acnologia was human. In fact, he was not even a bender. He was a wizard who loved magic, desired to learn all he could on magic, and moonbending became a very favored subject of his. He found Lunaria and, using ancient magic only known in his time, he detached his soul from his body, absorbed the spiritual energies of this world, and in time his very soul would be one with Moon Chi. He strengthened his own soul, transferred it to his physical body, and applied it to his magic. With this much power in his veins, he was not only the first mortal to gain bending of his own accord, but the first to actually take the form of his element. One with the essence of nature and the universe, he was a legend to the gods."

"Woooow!" Wendy's red eyes were shining. "That sounds so amazing! So did other Logia benders learn from him?"

"Hm hm, he sure inspired me. It would sound like Acnologia became a role-model for all benders… but he was dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"He was absorbed in Dark Arts and absorbed in power. He destroyed many, many landscapes with his unmatched power. In the end, he was still mortal, so the gods had to destroy him, sever his ultimate energy. Eventually, mortals discovered ways of achieving this level, having been deemed as 'Mortal Gods', but later to be called Logias when compared to the first one. The gods grew concerned having given the mortals more power than they imagined, but passed this off. It showed how generations could pass and things develop.

"As destructive as he was, Acnologia was one of my idols. I think he loved magic as much as I do, and all he desired was the freedom to grow with his power. Tell me, Wendy, when you first laid your hands on your wand and began summoning spells to your whim, how did you feel?"

Wendy pulled out her Lamia Scale. "It felt amazing! It felt like my heart was closed, but it finally opened up to a whole new world! I was beginning to learn who I was!"

"That's how I always feel as I practice and research magic. It is a wonderful power, and I would like others to view it the way I do. But much of Earth's society fears magic, and magic communities are forced to hide. If those rules did not exist and mages could express their selves freely, there would be no fear. Don't you agree, Wendy?"

"Of course I do." Wendy smiled. "I mean, it's one thing if wizards use their magic to bully people, but they shouldn't be persecuted just for being wizards."

"Exactly! Throughout history, it was shown that rules create limitations and create havoc because of these limitations." Vaati paced back and forth as he stressed his argument. "Atrocities like slavery, events like World War II, have all happened because of power-hungry world leaders who were ignorant to the ideals of freedom. Growing up, I read more than my share of stories, detailing the exploits of these leaders. They _disgusted_ me to no end." Vaati gritted his teeth. A darkness loomed in his red eye. "It makes me wonder what the world would be like… _if we just didn't have them."_

"Father?"

"…" Vaati turned to her, smiling. "Sorry, I kind of just started rambling. But the truth is, Wendy, that I wanted you to know freedom, too. I did not just abandon you to protect you… I wanted you to grow up without the binds of parentage, without you feeling burdened or indebted to your parents. I know that life has been hard for you… but I only desired the best for you, Dear."

"But, Dad… all I wanted was to know you. I didn't care about having freedom or feeling burdened… and for a long time, I thought that you didn't want to bother with me. I don't think I ever felt free… I just felt like a waste. I felt like nothing I did mattered and no one would ever care about me."

"Wendy… you were more important to me than anything else. I never felt more happy… than the day you were born. You were never a waste… and I'm sorry that I made you feel that way."

"I don't care about that, anymore." Tears welled up in her eyes again. "I'm just glad you're here now… I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Wendy."

They hugged warmly. The father and daughter that have been apart for so long… Wendy felt like nothing could go wrong and she would be happy from this moment forward. Why wouldn't she feel this way… At long last, she had her father.

"…Wait a minute!" Wendy spoke up. "How did I weigh you down in this low gravity?"

"You must be heavier than you think!" Vaati laughed.

"Daaaaad!" Wendy turned red and wiggled embarrassingly. But then the two engaged in laughter.

From a safe distance, Carla was hiding behind stalagmites. Call it instinct, but she didn't like the look of this man.

 **Twinkle Park**

Dr. Facilier's Point Me spell led the kids to a town park. In its center was an ice-blue fountain statue of a girl with butterfly wings, pouring water from its back. "Master Crest, as the Firstborn of Moon, you must learn to take responsibility!" Arlon told him scoldingly. "In the future, you cannot rely on your caretakers to pay your food bills, and you certainly cannot eat like a _farm_ animal for the rest of your life."

"Man, and I thought being a baby god would be more fun and games." Lee said.

"It's fun for me!" Lulu did a twirl. "I feel so skinny, I can stand still and hide in plain sight, just like a paper!" And just then, she inflated to her chubby self. "WHAT THE HECK?!"

"Ohhhhhh yeah, forgot to mention, that wears off." Crest noted. "So uh, no hiding for you!"

"AWWWW!"

"It should go without saying you must not abuse your power for senseless purposes." Arlon said.

As they trekked up a hill, a Lunarian with watery butterfly wings emerged from the other side. She gasped at seeing Arlon. "DAD!"

"Lapis!" Arlon exclaimed.

The fairy girl swooped down and grabbed her father in a hug, twirling him. "I missed you so much! I would've come back sooner, but Kyogre made me stay in Oceana, and this stupid sponge thing came and… Wait…" She noticed the creature in Arlon's arm. "Is that…"

"The Firstborn, Crest."

"You mean he's finally come?!"

"Hey, who're you?" Lee asked rudely. "You look like that statue over there."

Lapis turned to them. "Oh… some more humans." She said with resent. "By any chance, you wouldn't be acquainted with the one who arrived earlier?"

"What do you mean?" Leanne asked.

"After I finally made it home, this ship crash-landed in the park and a human girl came out of it. She had blonde hair and a green shirt."

"DIWATA!"

"KIDS, OVER HERE!" Facilier called from atop the hill. "I think I just found her!"

The operatives ran up beside him and saw the backside of a familiar blonde girl sitting in a shimmering, moon-shaped pool. "It's really her!" Lee beamed. "Diwata!"

The four kids rushed down to greet her. She turned around, "HEY, guys!" showing her deep blue face with round, white eyes.

"AAAAAAAH!" They screamed with the biggest shock they have ever experienced, so big their hearts almost jumped out. "D-D-Diwata?" Denny stuttered. "Are you stuck in mid-throw-up?"

"No, silly!" She shook her head. "I'm a Lunarian!"

"You…You are?!" Leanne couldn't process this quick enough.

"Um, I wanna say half-Lunarian, but my mom is half-Lunarian, which I guess makes me half of half-Lunarian! What? Didn't you guys know? Like, I turn blue every time we go swim at the pool! Well, I turn partly blue, but only because we never go night-swimmin', hee hee hee! Hey… are you guys okay? You look like Time just halted to a standstill. …Hello?"

The amount of plot twists they experienced tonight froze them speechless. Lulu fell and rolled into the water.

 **Gravity Falls; Portal Chamber**

Mabel, Grenda, and Candy had fallen asleep after hours of Dimension Fishing. Dipper, being the night owl he was, had to be drugged with a dose of harmless Death Chi. With the four operatives out, Medusa and Thanatos could make their selves known. "You like to get in, get out without a trace, don't you?" Nerehc queried.

"It's not like I wanted to be scarce, it's just this dimension is more heavily watched." The goddess shrugged. "Except this room, for some reason. I brought the next two candidates for our mission."

Atnort and Annaira Eerfnud came behind her. Medusa approached one of the connecting devices, which contained the blue glowing cube known as the Tesseract. "So, this is the device Bill Cipher used to help power the portal. But it isn't from this world, either." She took the Tesseract out of its station and held it before the scanner.

 _"Original counterpart detected. Changing destination to: Dimension Marvel-199999."_ The arrow pointed at a symbol of a slanted "A" with a circle around it.

Under Medusa's instruction, Nerehc played the Ocarina of Time, and Fi set it to transport seven years in the past. Atnort and Annaira stood before the spiraling portal as it shone blue. "In this universe, you will be searching for one of the most powerful Darknesses. A born conqueror, a true challenger of the gods… the Mad Titan, Thanos."

 **Outside Lunaria's atmosphere**

A fleet of ships had cleared the Lunar Field and were closing in on the Moon Planet. These ships were marked with a huge red "R". "We will arrive on Lunaria's surface in twenty minutes, Master Giovanni." Butch reported.

"It is even more marvelous up close." Giovanni smirked. "A planet rich with supernatural chi. A terrific source of power, and hiding place of the Tenth Firstborn."

"Those Lunarian dweebs have no idea that WE knew about the Tenth Firstborn all along!" Meowth announced. "And now Team Rocket's gonna be da first bunch o' baddies to capture him!"

"It is a shame that Mew was taken by that wretched girl." Plank 20x40 spoke. The face of his cyborg body, Johnny, made his most frightening grin. "But the amount of power this Newborn Firstborn will grant us will make us unstoppable! Especially with _you_ on our side…" the cyborg turned around, "Acnologia."

The shirtless man with long, spiky white hair, and tan, torn-up skin with blue tattoos, was knelt on a platform. He tried to rush forward- _"OOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRGH!"_ He was bound to the platform and encased inside a force field. Furthermore, John-Plank had a remote control to zap him into submission.

"You'd best behave yourself in my presence, Mr. Logia." said Giovanni. "I did not rescue you from that burning sanctum so you would run rampant like the beast you were. I will seize the Ten Firstborn and rule the universe. I brought you back from the dead so you would guide me to Lunaria… but if you mind your manners, I will be happy to grant you a place in my army."

 _"OOOAAAAAARRRRGH!"_ He was shocked again in his attempt to resist.

Jessie and James were holding each other and shuddering. "You know, maybe you should be a little nicer to him." Jessie said.

"After all, a Logia moonbender is practically an endangered species." James followed.

"The microbots I had planted inside him will keep him under control." Plank assured. "He will be a valuable asset to us."

"And his power will be nothing to that which Crest can give us." Giovanni said, facing the approaching planet. "The first target I will set my eyes on is Gozaburo Kaiba. His precious Duel Monsters will be wiped out in one fell swoop!"

Acnologia fell to his hand and knees. He looked up, snarling like a beast as he bared his fangs. The glow of Lunaria glinted off his blue eyes, his pupils shrinking.

* * *

 **I got this chapter done in two days… at least. SUPER FAST! I guess it's easy when I already had some dialogue pre-written. So yeah, Crest actually first appeared in my "Mother's Day" one-shot if anyone remembers that. We all know Vaati, he's from _Zelda_ and he was an on-again off-again villain in _Firstborn_. Next time, another Darkness hunt. Here's a short and simple Caesar Cipher.**

 **…**

 ** _GUDPDWLF LURQB_**


	27. Sibling Rivalry

**Gonna do a quick Darkness stage, then back to the Loony Planet. Also, if you wanna go on a feels trip, play the _Donkey Kong_ music I'll cue up. ;P**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-27: Sibling Rivalry_**

 **Marvel-199999; Sanctuary** (Play "Hau'oli Hau'oli" from _Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep_!)

 _"The Chitauri grow restless."_

 _"Let them gird themselves. I will lead them into glorious battle."_

 _"Battle? Against the meager might of Earth?"_

 _"Glorious, not lengthy. If your force is as formidable as you claim."_

He was donned with golden armor, entrusted with a scepter with a powerful blue gem as its core. We know this black-haired gentleman as Loki. Of course, these events were a little before the chaos on Birka. "You will have your war, Asgardian." An ancient, hooded being who sounded like Emperor Palpatine stated. "If you fail… if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as death."

"I shall not fail." Loki assured. "With the power of this scepter, even the most vile, _hulking_ figure cannot crush me."

 **Earth**

"Achoo!" Bruce Banner sneezed.

"Bless you, Dr. Banner." Nick Fury said.

"Thank you."

 **Sanctuary**

"See that you don't." The Other said as a bright light flashed in the starry sky. "Once the Tesseract is in your possession, you are to-"

"AAAAAHH- UH!" Two beings crashed on the ground between The Other and Loki. A girl with purple skin and green hair, and a boy with green skin and magenta hair.

"They couldn't have programmed the Multiverse Portal to drop us closer to the ground?!" Atnort complained.

"YOU'RE the one who wanted to jump in without a second's thought!" Annaira argued.

"IMPUDENT VERMIN!" The Other's elderly voice thundered.

"It's your problem, not mine." Loki remarked before leaving.

"How DARE you little heathens intrude upon Lord Thanos' sacred ground with naught a hint of repentance!"

"What are you talking about?" Atnort asked, looking around. "I don't see anybody but some old ghoul with bad breath!"

 _"Enough."_ A deep, commanding voice echoed. They faced the giant throne that was hovered above their asteroid. It turned, revealing the giant with purple skin, golden armor, and a muscular build. He had bright blue eyes. "When children come idly shrieking into my domain… they must bow before he whom they have intruded upon… or be given severe discipline."

"Talk like a normal person, why don't ya."

"Shall I cut off your tongue?!" Other shouted.

"Wait!" Anna yelped. "Are you… Thanos?"

"You have nerve to question my name, without providing your own. State your names and where you hail from." Thanos ordered.

The siblings exchanged glances. "I'm Annaira Eerfnud. This is my brother, Atnort Eerfnud. We're from the Negaverse—the Earolf Galaxy."

"Negaverse… Earolf… These places are unfamiliar to me. And your species… Is it Zehoberei?"

"We're Zehoberei if you want us to be." Atnort joked.

Thanos smirked, showing his large teeth. "Congratulations, Atnort and Annaira. You are now children of Thanos!"

"Since when?!"

"Since you were _born_. You will serve me from this moment forward. Within the next few years, I will train you to become world-conquering machines, matched only by your fellow assassins. Gamora… Nebula… come to Papa."

The kids heard footsteps and turned. A woman with black hair, green skin, and black attire, along with a blue-skinned woman with a bald head and cybernetic features approached them. "These two are Atnort and Annaira. They are your little siblings. So, as their big sisters, you two must set the example."

"Might we inquire as to how they were _bred_?" Gamora asked acerbically.

"The same as _you_ , I would be certain." Thanos smirked maliciously. "Well… Now that the family is all here, why don't we play a _game_? There is an ancient Asgardian temple five parsecs from here. Inside is an item that I want. A special _gauntlet_ , if you will. Heavily fortified… with monsters so ferocious, the Asgardians dare not venture into its depths. My girls, you will lead your new siblings into the temple. Brave the traps and return to me with the gauntlet. Gamora… you will take Atnort. And Nebula, you will take Annaira. Your squads will compete against each other, and the one to retrieve the gauntlet… will earn Daddy's praise."

"And the one who does not?" Nebula asked with a voice that sounded like Medusa (Cree Summer).

"It would seem I have been too lenient with them. Do I make myself clear? Then take your brethren and prepare yourselves."

"We didn't come here to play some game!" Atnort yelled. "We came here to find you! You're one of the Thirteen Darknesses, so you have to-"

"SILENCE! I will not tolerate insolence. Forget who you were and where you came from… because from this moment forward, you are children of Thanos. Do as I say and bring me the gauntlet! Or you will know true pain…"

Gamora grabbed Atnort's arm. "Come." She led the younger green-skinned alien away.

As Nebula guided Annaira in the opposite direction, the latter reflected on her name… literally. _"Nebula… Aluben…"_

"Do not mumble, speak up!" Nebula ordered.

"Oh, of course!" Anna gasped to attention. "You'd like that, wouldn't you…"

Watching his children leave, Thanos sighed and relaxed on his throne. "Do you really believe these offspring will bring the Infinity Gauntlet without strife?" The Other questioned.

"No… Of course there will be strife. But that's why… I love them…" Thanos smiled.

His phone rang. Frowning, Thanos grabbed it from his pocket. He clicked the holo-projection to show Ronan the Accuser's face. _"THANOS! This verminous Xandarian couple is talking over the movie! SEND your minions to DESTROY Nova Cinema 199999 at once!"_ He hung up.

"Ugh… Speaking of pouty children." Thanos sighed.

 **Gamora's ship, moments later**

"The Asgardian temple has two entrances that we know of." Gamora explained as she piloted the craft. There were robotic aliens called Chitauri operating the controls. "I planned to take the bottom entrance. I also have Chitauri spies planted on Nebula's ship to slow them down. Of course, I didn't plan on a little brat slowing _me_ down."

"Hang on a minute!" Atnort spoke up. "I may be a lightningbender, but this is going too fast even for me! First off, I didn't agree to sign up for this treasure hunt, and second, if we're both after the same thing for the same guy, then why are we fighting the other guys?!"

"Because Thanos enjoys it when his children fight for his affection. I'd advise you to get used to it."

 _"Pfft, yeah right. As soon as that portal calls us back, I'm jumping in faster than a Lightning Comet."_

"You have quite the mouth for an offspring." Gamora remarked. "What do you have to contribute?"

"I'm a lightningbender." He pointed at his electrified antenna. "My chi paths got a little messy a few months ago, so I've been forced to take baby steps… If you wanna let the jokes fly in."

"Do you mean to say you possess the power of lightning? Perhaps you _will_ be useful."

 **Nebula's ship**

"You're able to control lifeforms via the blood in their veins?" Nebula replied to Annaira's description on her powers. "With power like that, we can easily crush Gamora and your brother."

"If it were that easy, I would've crushed him already." Anna said. "So… Nebula… what kind of man is Thanos?"

"What kind of man is _Thanos_? I thought you would've at least known he isn't a _human_ before you appeared in Sanctuary. Honestly, what creature in the universe doesn't know who Thanos is?"

"A creature not from the universe!" Anna chortled.

"Save your humor for after we've won. There's the temple." They were approaching a massive, dark structure in the middle of space. Giant asteroids surrounded the region and made it impossible for stars to be seen. Nebula glanced down and noticed the ship floating under the asteroids to the bottom of the temple. "Right on cue. It's time to give my sister a little surprise."

"What do you mean?"

"I had my Chitauri plant a bomb in their ship. With a push of the button," Nebula held her finger above a red button on the control deck, "it'll stop them before she even has a chance!"

 _"RAAAH!"_ Two Chitauri jumped over and lashed blades at Nebula, but she was quick to flip over them and shoot them through the heads with a ray gun. Other Chitauri were clashing with each other, and when one of them shot its gun at Nebula, she ducked, causing the laser to destroy the detonator. "So, my sister hired a bunch of double-crossers to get the jump on me first?! Well, the joke's on her, because now the bomb is set to explode in 30 seconds!"

 **Gamora's ship**

 _Beep…beep…_

Atnort's antenna picked up a sound. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" Gamora asked.

Atnort bent over a hatch on the floor and zapped lightning around the edges to detach it. There was a bomb with a timer. "It's a bomb!"

"A bomb?!" Gamora whipped around. She set the ship to autopilot and tried to pick the device off its place. "It's attached to the ship, we need to get off!"

"No we don't—it's gonna blow when it hits zero, right? So we just need to stop the timer!" Atnort zapped a gentle ray of lightning from his antenna, sending a charge through the explosive until its timer blacked out. "I dealt with these all the time back in DNKG."

"I should've known Nebula would try something so shifty. Hmph… we must be on our guard. Put on your helmet. It's time to enter the temple. Chitauri Squadron A, stay here and try to get that bomb off. Squadron B, sabotage Nebula's ship."

"How do they tell each other apart?" Atnort asked.

"How should I know, they're just robot lizards."

 _Stage B-23: Dark Space_

 _Mission: Get the Infinity Gauntlet!_

Atnort leapt up a series of asteroid platforms, following Gamora's example as they made their way to the temple's bottom entrance. On one asteroid, they planned to jump and kick off a vertical asteroid to reach a higher one, but Asteroks (or Space Octoroks) coughed rocks at them to prevent this feat. Atnort could shoot lightning at the space squids, allowing them to accomplish their low-G Wall Jump. "I may need your powers here, too." Gamora cautioned as they faced a swarm of slow, small incoming asteroids. They made a great leap to a distant asteroid, during which Atnort shot lightning bolts at the small ones that threatened to bash their skulls. After making land, the two Wall Jumped up a series of far-apart asteroids that led straight into the temple entrance.

They had to keep Wall Jumping up a shaft before they could reach the floor of the temple hallway, the gravity still low. They faced a pit where meteors were constantly raining downward, so Atnort did the honors and performed a Zip Dash around them and crossed the pit. He pressed a switch that stopped the asteroids and allowed Gamora to leap across.

"So, do you and Annaira try to kill each other a lot?" Gamora asked while they proceeded.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Call it a hunch."

"Well yeah, we use each other to 'vent' a lot. If you came from a planet that had twice the population that it should have, it would make you pretty stressed out, too."

"I should be so lucky…"

They reached a ledge with a pad with a hammer icon, and the rest of this passage was set over a pit. Atnort used lightning to ignite the pad, and Gamora quickly hopped on a platform that rose up on their left. Other such platforms poked out of the walls and ceiling. Two of them blocked her path, so she told Atnort to stop powering. The pillars retracted, including hers, but she made the low-G leap off the platform, past the barricading pillars, then told Atnort to reactivate them so she could land on a new extracted pillar. The hall turned left, and the ledge she had to reach was blocked by ceiling pillars. When Atnort deactivated, Gamora made the jump—wall pillars from either side would've come out and crushed her had she delayed, but she made it. She pressed a switch that lowered a stairway of electric spheres within mechanical devices, and Atnort could Zip Dash up these spheres to get to her.

In fact, the next room was huge and full of Zip Dash Spheres. Many of them only pointed in certain directions, creating a complex maze for the lightningbender. So complex that I'm sure you wouldn't remember the path even if I wrote it down. It took Atnort 20 minutes to solve the maze, and during this time Gamora was playing _Angry Space Birds_ on her holo-phone. Eventually, Atnort made it across and stepped on a switch that would extend a bridge for Gamora. "Why am I doing all the work here?" Atnort commented.

"It's not my fault this temple has puzzles that conveniently befit your powers."

 **With Nebula and Annaira**

A Fatblin guarded the entrance to the temple, but when the overweight monster stabbed its spear, Nebula leapt above and kicked the spearhead off, afterwards kicking its weapon and shield away. Annaira used bloodbending to roll it into a Fatblin-size hole, which triggered the massive gate to open. They entered a room with several fountains spewing from the floor. There was a stone tablet with text in front of the next sealed door. Nebula's scanner translated the Asgardian text and read aloud, "'The chamber shall open to a dry floor.'"

"I guess we're allowed to keep the air wet." Anna used her waterbending to lift all the water off the floor and project a psychic barrier that would keep all the other water in the air. Holding so much water was a strain on herself, but she withstood it until the door opened. Nebula quickly ran in, and Anna let the water splash down before diving in the doorway herself.

"Annaira, look at this." Nebula was viewing a magic-projected screen on the wall. It showed Atnort and Gamora in a different passage.

"So I guess this is a security camera." Anna figured.

"Yes…" Nebula smirked at the square switch below the screen. "And this must be SECURITY!" She pressed it. (Play "Deep Space Battle" from _Birth By Sleep_!)

The door behind Atnort and Gamora sealed, and their hallway rumbled. "I think we tripped the wire!" The hall began to turn red with heat, and the aliens sweated. The two green-skins rushed down the hall, dodging the parts of floor that burst into flame. Gamora Wall Jumped across a lava river while Atnort used Zip Dash Spheres, falling tired after he did so. Gamora picked him up and jumped up a set of platforms over a lava pit, making it through a new door that sealed off the burning corridor.

"Phew… I guess you can't expect these traps to be as dumb as _Anaidni Senoj_." Atnort gasped for breath.

Gamora found a holo-screen that showed Nebula and Annaira viewing a similar screen. "And you can't expect your sister to play fairly!" She pressed the switch under that screen.

Anna and Nebula's hallway began to flood. Anna tried to bend it, but the water was unusually thick. "I'm not cleaning this floor." The two raced up the hall, dodging the waterfalls that poured in. A Bokoblin tried to attack them, but Anna grabbed it in bloodbending and brought it with her, then snatched a second Bokoblin. She stuck the two monsters into holes on either wall, twisting them like keys to open the gate. They had to cross a balance beam over rising thick water. Nebula ran across it with grace, but when she saw Annaira doing it in a slow, careful fashion, the assassin was forced to run back, pick up, and carry Anna to the exit.

They pressed another switch, dropping the floor in their rivals' next hallway. A storm of Zip Dash Spheres were flying at Atnort and Gamora. The latter dodged them expertly while Atnort used them to zip to the opposite side and press a switch, shutting them off and repairing the floor. Unfortunately, the ceiling began to close down, so Gamora was forced to dash, sliding under the last few inches of space and escaping through the door.

Gamora pressed a switch, turning her sister's hallway into a mirage zone. The hall consisted of numerous forks, where one of them appeared normal, but would lead them into a pit of lava. Annaira was about to run into a pit- "GET BACK!" Nebula grabbed her before she did. "My scanner can see through the mirage! Follow me!" The right directions were left, right, right, and left.

Nebula found another monitor—Gamora found another monitor. Gamora was seen getting ready to trigger another trap—Nebula was going to set another trap. They both raised fingers to press the buttons—

Annaira sliced theirs with a Water Slice and Atnort destroyed theirs with lightning. "ARE YOU INSANE?!" Nebula bellowed. "Do you WANT them to get the upper hand?!"

"I thought we were here to get a gauntlet, not try to kill each other! We're not making any progress."

"They were about to trap us!"

Anna and Nebula looked around and waited a moment. "…Or perhaps not." (End song.)

 **With Atnort**

"Hm… I guess she feels the same." Atnort observed.

"Fine, I'll stop." Gamora complied. "But for the record, we made faster progress running from their traps."

The two proceeded up a flight of stairs, with tiny lines in the wall providing light. "I've been in this galaxy for almost an hour, and it's just as crazy as my homeworld! How do you live with a father that MAKES his kids fight each other?!" Atnort questioned.

"Thanos is NOT our father." Gamora affirmed. "To him, 'children' is another word for weapons. He is a murderer and a monster. He killed every last member of my species, he killed my parents in front of me. Whether it's women, elders, children, infants… Thanos will slaughter anyone he desires in order to achieve dominion."

Atnort needed a moment to process that shocking response. "…Yeah, I didn't think any woman would be brave enough to get in bed with him. Did the same thing happen to Nebula?"

"I think her family was killed, but I don't know more than that. It doesn't matter. Thanos doesn't love us, nor do we love each other. We're weapons now. It won't be long before you and Annaira will be hating each other."

"We're not staying. We're jumping ship the second we have a chance to."

"And how do you plan to do that? Because Thanos will find you. He'll kill millions to ensure you are captured and punished."

"Trust me, we're going to escape." _I really hope that portal calls us back now._

"Hm. If your words held meaning, I would like to come with you."

Atnort bit his lip. "I… don't think you can do that."

"Why not?"

"Because we-" Atnort tripped on a slanted force and fell on it before pushing off and standing straight. "Huh?" A huge stone pyramid towered over them, and a golden gauntlet was floating above it.

Annaira and Nebula gazed at the massive ruin from across the great vacant chamber. The pyramid only seemed to grow as they stepped forward. Based on the stories from Nerehc's friends, this Pyrameglyph was a lot bigger than the other ones. Annaira saw Nebula using her scanner on the alien writing. "It won't translate." Anna knew.

"My scanner is programmed with eight billion different languages, even a simple ruin like this… is unknown." The scanner failed. "Hm… Well, what does it matter. That must be the gauntlet Father desires. Let's get it down before Gamora arrives."

"Too late, Sister." Gamora and Atnort walked out from behind the pyramid.

"Yeah, we found the gauntlet first!" Atnort asserted.

"You two took a lousy shortcut!" Anna argued.

"Shortcut my ass! I was stuck in that shock sphere room for 20 minutes! WE get the giant gauntlet!"

"Will both of you shut up and think for a second?" Gamora cut in. "How are we expected to carry such a large item to Father? We will never be able to bring it to either of our ships if we are at war with each other."

"Don't play the Moral Game with me, Sister." Nebula hissed. "You have always been Father's favorite child, and you crave his praise! But I will not let you have it, you parentless whore!"

"SOULLESS WITCH!" Gamora punched Nebula in the jaw—the sister flipped behind and grabbed Gamora by the neck, choking her until Gamora grabbed a knife from her pocket and cut Nebula's waist. They swung swift kicks at the other before Gamora rolled behind, grabbed Nebula, and kicked her against the Pyrameglyph. She was dizzied by the impact, but she extracted long metal claws and swiped them at Gamora, who dodged and grabbed both Nebula's wrists, only for the latter to kick up at her face.

Atnort and Annaira exchanged looks. "So if this is an Original World, is this where the Negaverse gets it?" the former asked.

The ceiling of the temple blew open, interrupting the fight. A squad of Chitauri flew in, accompanied by Thanos on his throne. "It's so wonderful to see my children playing." Thanos smiled with malice. "Oh, don't let me intervene. I merely wanted to observe my girls bonding. After all… the game is not over." He looked up at the gauntlet. "The Infinity Gauntlet is right there. Which child will be the first to bring it to me? Nebula? …Gamora? …Or, how about _you_ two?" He faced down at Atnort and Anna. "New children of Thanos… FIGHT, and prove which one is superior!"

Atnort looked at his sister, then to Gamora, before facing up at Thanos. He grit his teeth. "I'd rather fight the lazy fat guy in the floating CHAIR!" He shot a beam of lightning from his antenna. It was small and merely tickled the nose of Thanos. When it stopped, the lord's nose twitched. Atnort shot lightning from his hands, but it came in weak doses. He kept trying until- "Ow!" He fell to his knees. "My chi paths hurt… I had to use the Zip Dash too much."

Thanos dropped out of his throne, shaking the floor. He was three times taller than a human adult and very intimidating. He approached Atnort, but Annaira jumped in front, aimed her open hands, bent the fingers, and twisted the wrists different ways. She seemed to be clutching hard at an invisible force. Thanos cocked a brow. "What are you doing?"

"…Um…" A sweatdrop rolled down Anna's face. "Do you have blood?"

"Heh heh heh." Thanos smirked, showing his rotten teeth. " _Gods_ do not _bleed_." He faced Gamora and Nebula. "Well? Is no one going to get the gauntlet?" Back to the Eerfnuds. "No? Fine." He approached the pyramid. "I'll do it myself."

The Mad Titan climbed the pyramid and claimed the golden gauntlet. It fit perfectly over his left hand. He balled his fist and viewed the knuckles, noting its empty spaces. "It feels… empty. But not for long… Soon, the Infinity Stones will be mine, and I will control reality!" He raised his fist above the tip of the pyramid and _SMASHED! !_

The impact of the Infinity Gauntlet to the unbreakable stone created a powerful shockwave that shook the entire temple. The others could barely keep on their feet and the temple started to crumble. Anna helped Atnort dodge the falling rock chunks, and when Thanos' daughters tried to do the same, a huge chunk crushed Nebula's left arm.

"ACK!" Nebula struggled to push the boulder off. "Father! I am trapped!"

"Nebula!" Gamora rushed to her.

"NO, Gamora!" Thanos roared. "Do not pity the weak!"

Gamora faced Nebula, trapped in a moral dilemma. However, the blue-skinned sister raised her knife and chopped the pinned arm off. "AAAAAH!"

A bright light flashed in the sky, and a ray struck the floor of the already-crumbling temple. Annaira hesitated, for Thanos had not read the Pyrameglyph, yet. But she looked at her weakened brother once more, and when the floor was seeing its last moments, Anna lifted Atnort up and jumped into the portal, returning to their universe's Posiverse.

After the temple was gone and the sisters escaped, Thanos stood on the one remaining platform before the Pyrameglyph.

 _O Supreme Being of the Universe… Seek the power that you long for… Become invincible… Become a god._

Thanos smirked at the very inspiring message. A dark aura flew from the pyramid into his mighty body. He was ready to seek the Infinity Stones.

 **Thanos awakened as a _DARKNESS_. Only 5 more to go.**

The Mad Titan looked up at the sky, pondering over the beam of light that took his new children away. "Hmm… Even the boundaries of dimensions… are nothing to the power of Thanos. I will find you again, my children… and destroy all that you cherish."

 **Somewhere sometime in Danny Phantom's world**

The Infinity Gauntlet, reduced to a lesser size, lay abandoned on the ground. A wandering ringleader happened to come by it. Baldhead, white skin, and red eyes were his features. He fixed the gauntlet perfectly over his hand. "Saaaaay! That's not a bad fit!"

 _The Infinity Gauntlet was known as the Reality Gauntlet, having been found and used by numerous people in this dimension's history. It was last seen at Final Brain, during the battle with the Brotherhood._

Sam and Tucker ran about, happily sucking ghost villains into their Thermoses, such as Kitty, Hotep-Ra, and Lydia, then suddenly noticed Freakshow. The ghost-wannabe looked angrily at them before using his Reality Gauntlet to turn giant, and the kids gasped and ran before he could stomp on them. Danny and Emily saw this and nodded to each other. Both Halfas flew up toward Freakshow's face and combined their Ecto Rays, firing directly at the clown's face and knocking him over. Freakshow growled in anger and used the Reality Gauntlet to transform himself into a hideously, terrifying ghost. However, Danny only looked with disbelief before simply sucking him inside the Fenton Thermos. He then picked up the dropped Reality Gauntlet and tossed it in the air, and Emily fired an Ecto Ray to destroy it.

 _The Infinity Stones were at a sufficient loss of power because they did not belong in this world. The gauntlet never looked more feeble._

Twenty years later, with the frozen villains free and long gone, the broken pieces of the gauntlet began to move to each other like magnets.

 _But they knew their original master would return. They would have power again._

 **Portal Chamber**

"You know, there was something about Thanos' name that struck me as familiar." Thanatos said. "Do you know what that could be, Medusa?"

"Oh, Thannypoo." Medusa scratched the snake's chin. "Do you ever get tired of being a jokester?"

Nerehc, Fi, and the gods looked as Annaira fell out of the portal with Atnort's arm around her head. "Did you do it?" Nerehc asked.

"We… kinda left before we saw him read it." Atnort replied.

"Rest assured, he did read it." Medusa assured. "You did a fine job, you two."

"How? We didn't even guide him to it, and his daughters would've found the pyramid, anyway." Annaira reasoned.

"I just wanted to give you a preview." Medusa smirked. "Thanos is, without a doubt, the most powerful being in that universe. And when the Infinity Stones fall into his grasp… well, by God, even _I am_ afraid!"

"She won't even get in bed with him!" Thanatos remarked.

Medusa glared and gripped his neck. "Anyway, I'll come back later with your next mission. Rest up, kiddies. You know what you're up against." She vanished in a Dark Portal.

"Hm… Was Thanos really as powerful as she says?" Nerehc asked.

"He really just sat on a chair most of the time." Atnort said. "But he's got a hell of a way raising kids. Speaking of which… why did you save me, Anna?"

"Stupid Atnort. You're my brother, aren't you? Someone needs to make sure you don't lightningbend irrepressibly."

"Yeah, well… you have weird-looking boogers."

"At least all I have to do is one swift motion of the hand and waterbend them out. Yours just sticks with static electricity."

"You just be careful what you touch when we get home." The two giggled.

"Awwww." Nerehc smiled. "They really do love each other."

Ghirahim smiled at the readers and winked.

"Still… do you think we should've brought those two with us?" Atnort asked.

"Why the hell would we? Those two were insane!"

"So are we, Anna! Don't you think they would've behaved a bit differently if we… got them away from Thanos?"

"I doubt it." Annaira looked away with a frown. "After all… I still want Aluben back."

"…I do, too… but compared to Thanos, Aluben is alright to be around."

 **Lunaria** ; **Twinkle Park**

"Oooooooo!" Diwata waved her hands and moaned in a ghostly fashion. "I'm bluuuuuuuue! So bluuuuuuue!"

Her Sector RZ friends stared at her with disbelief. "We see that. You aren't dead." Lee said.

"WE WANT A BLUE MAN GROUP!" Donna shouted angrily.

"Either we see dancing blue people or we're bashing heads!" Sonny threatened.

"I can't believe I didn't see that girl following me." Lapis sighed. "She should've definitely gotten lost in the Lunar Field."

"But the fact is she is Lunarian." Arlon reminded, still holding Crest. "Not that anyone else has noticed. When a Lunarian mates with a different species, their descendants inherit the skin color of that species. But when exposed to water, the element with the greatest connection to Moon Chi, their blueness shows. Age rates can vary among hybrids."

"Well, we knew Dee-Dee since we were little." Lulu replied. "Age isn't a factor."

"If I may ask, who are Miss Diwata's relatives?"

"Her mom's name is Flordeluna." Leanne answered. "A name that is… a dead giveaway when you think about it. But this part's weird, her dad's name is Bruce Uno—and he looks exactly like this other man called Bruce Farley! Even Uncle Nigel wasn't sure if he was related to him."

"Our theory is that Bruce Uno is from a parallel universe, transported to ours due to Arceus's temporal distortion 20 years ago." Denny explained.

"The temporal distortion?" Lapis asked, stupefied. "A man from a parallel universe?"

"Indeed, Lapis." Arlon agreed. "As outlandish as their story sounds… there may yet be truth to it."

"Oh derp, did we accidentally confirm a prophecy?" Leanne asked.

"We Lunarians have always anticipated the birth and arrival of the Tenth Firstborn, Crest of the Moon. But a Firstborn is not whole without its Mortal Guardian. And it was told that Crest's Firstborn Guardian would be one born of Lunarian blood, shared with the blood of one who hails beyond space's boundaries. I believe this translates to dimensional boundaries."

"So you're saying Diwata is the Firstborn Guardian?!" Lee exclaimed.

"The timing behind this could not be more random." Denny commented.

"Random or not, her duty is imperative." Arlon continued. "Moon Chi is a very powerful energy, and the amount Crest possesses is so great, it's devastating. His Guardian must teach him to use it wisely, and make wise use of her powers."

"But Diwata has firebending, not moonbending!" Lee argued.

"Actuallyyyyy not really." Diwata lit her hands with sapphire flames. "Moon Fire is kinda different from fire fire. It's only red as a disguise. It represents the anger or 'hotheadedness' of my Moon Chi."

"Just how good are you at moonbending?" Leanne asked.

"Uhhh, almost decent… _could be better."_ she said quietly with a white blush.

"If she is the Guardian, she needs to claim Crest soon." Lapis stated. "The Apocalypse is coming, and Lunaria will be the first to go."

"What do you mean?" asked Denny.

"The Apocalypse will happen when the moons fail to contain the Netherverse's energy and explode, destroying all in their range. But with Crest's power, maybe we have a chance. He can keep the moons from exploding."

"You mean there might be a way to stop the Apocalypse?!" Leanne exclaimed. "What about the Twenty Keys?"

"It is only a presumption, children!" Arlon stressed. "Regardless, I am certain Master Crest's role in the universe is a great one. And to think our meeting transpires during such a time… it must be fate."

"Then I'll do it!" Diwata proclaimed. "I'll become Crest's Guardian, and together, we'll save the universe from-!"

"DAAAAH I can't stand this grown-up stuff anymore! !" Crest leapt out of Arlon's grasp and flew away.

"Master Crest! Please come back!" Arlon cried.

"I'll catch him!" Lapis flew after.

"What got into him?" Lee asked.

"Sigh… Master Crest is still a newborn of the Firstborn. His mind has yet to process and mature."

"At least he knows more than Manaphy." Leanne mentioned. "And he had 20 years."

Crest didn't go far, only hiding behind the short mount where a park tree was planted. Lapis stood on the edge of the mount and looked down at him. He was blending with the crescent moon rocks. "You didn't go far."

"Go away, I'm sulking!"

Lapis sat in front of him. "Is it the Apocalypse that has you so worried?"

"NO! I mean, YES! It's just, I didn't ask to be a Firstborn! I just wanted to fly around and eat food! But NOOOO! Red Eye Guy's holding me captive because guys will KIDNAP me, Big Mustache Guy says I need to mind my MANNERS, because I'm a MOON PRINCE, and I'm two freaking Earth years old!"

"Believe me, I understand! I know what it's like to be forced doing something you don't wanna do. And I think what some people seem to forget is… you may be a god, but you have a soul, too. You're only a child. Like, when people think of the Firstborn, they think of the most powerful beings in the universe, a source of unlimited power, they think of you as just… objects. But…" Lapis felt the urge to reach back and touch her gem, "you're not objects, and you're not just gods, either. You're people who have feelings and… know how to learn."

"I always wondered what the other Firstborn were like. You ever met them?"

"I only met one. And he, heh heh heh!" Lapis grinned, but then looked sheepishly, "he was somethin'."

"I'LL tell ya what Crest needs!" Diwata jumped up on the mount. "To just JUMP AROUND the moon and have FUUUUUN!" She leaped very high and slowly came down. "Come on, Crest, let's play! Put aside that boring god stuff for a day and be a kid!"

"AWESOME!"

"YEEEAAAH!" Dee-Dee grabbed Crest and leapt away.

 **A seaside cliff** (Play "Twilight Terror Intro" from _Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze_! (Don't let the name fool you, it's gorgeous.))

"Tell me, Wendy." Vaati spoke as he and his daughter stared at the moonlit ocean's horizon. "When you are running across endless fields under endless skies… do you not long to see if that horizon has an end? To keep running as the air always flows through your lungs?"

"I never really thought about it before… but I guess I would like to find out."

"Don't you think everyone should be allowed to view this marvel? But when oceans block our way, people are forced to rent boats. And this beautiful planet is hidden from the universe. If more people could be free to breathe this planet's air, set foot on this soil…! That reminds me!" Vaati faced her. "When I arrived, I got this outfit for you to wear." He waved his wand, casting magic glitter over Wendy. Her yellow- and blue-striped dress morphed into an indigo dress with stars, a yellow crescent moon on the chest, and a half-moon pattern around the bottom edge. Her shoes were gone, leaving only the winged bracelets around her ankles.

Wendy twirled gracefully, smiling at her pretty new dress. She jumped very high, and as the low gravity slowed her descent, she spun around in the air like a fairy ballerina. She landed twirling on the toes of one foot. She came to a stop and said with a great smile, "I love it! I feel so happy right now, Dad!"

"I knew you would be. The feeling in your heart you are experiencing right now… it is freedom. It is the most wonderful feeling in the universe. When you feel like you are able to do anything… and with magic, you can. That's why I fell in love with, not just magic, but the universe, sought to learn everything I could. I know that you feel the same. Dr. Facilier writes to me about how excited you get when you learn something new."

"I really do!" Wendy grinned. "And I do want to learn a lot! I wonder if I'll ever know as much as you."

"It will take some time… but trying to teach you all I know on magic is only a small part. There is more. There are many things I believe in, Wendy. Freedom is one, but I also have strong faith in reincarnation. Do you know what that is?"

"Y-Yes, it's… being reborn as somebody else?"

"Correct. The idea that you and I were completely different people in a past life. But I'm not talking about who we were a thousand years ago… I am talking about who we were _in another dimension_."

"Another dimension?"

"Very old texts depict the idea that our very universe is the center of a Dimensional Fusion, the molding of many alternate universes and their people. Just about every person in this realm could have existed in another universe, with entirely different lives, including you and me."

"Does that mean… you and I aren't related?"

"In this universe and its timeline, we _are_ father and daughter, but I'm saying there are versions of us who existed in other universes, and the gods of old have taken those people, and made them denizens of this one. No one knows what our original selves were like—perhaps I could have still been a wind mage, but you and I have no connection at all; I may not exist in your universe, I might have had a completely different personality. But I believe that our lives in those other worlds play a key effect with our lives here. I may not have been a revolutionary in that other world…" Vaati stared at his hand, "but perhaps I had revolutionary qualities. It leaves so much to wonder."

"How do you know all of this?"

"In the Spirit World, there is a deity called the Chronicler. He lives on an island where, to speak with him, one of each main bender type, plus Time and Space, must work together. His trials were primarily set for the Avatar & Negatar; apparently either one gets Time and Space every few generations. Anyway, I and some friends of mine braved those trials and spoke with him. He possessed a very ancient text describing this Fusion, and knowledge beyond. Would you like to hear something _amazing_ , Wendy?" He spoke this last part with concealed enthusiasm.

"S-Sure!"

Vaati walked forward, knelt to her eye-level, and placed hands on her shoulders. There was great excitement and desire in his voice. "There is a legend that tells of Twenty Keys: Seven Lights and Thirteen Darknesses. These keys can open a door to a dimension that existed before our own. It was from that dimension, the foundation of this one was formed, by ordinary mortals."

"I think I know about that! Dr. Facilier and Lee talk about the quest."

"Then you must also know about the Apocalypse destined to destroy this universe."

"Y…Yes?…" Wendy was saddened.

"I understand your remorse. This universe is _doomed_ , Wendy, but if this door were opened, we can _go_ to that world, and design a brand new universe! Do you know what that means?"

"We can save everyone?!" she exclaimed with bright eyes.

"Better! It means we can design a brand new world to our liking! Create a balance even the gods never knew! _We're_ the gods, Wendy! That power, greater than Logia, is in our hand! Creating a world… a world of _wind_."

"Wind?…" That sounded like a very odd desire.

"I mean, yes, all elements are equally important, but I always believed that wind… succeeded. What I want, what I always desired, for you, Wendy… is freedom. I want to create a world without the annoyance of governments, rules, borders; _gods_ even. Every soul, every being in the universe will possess absolute freedom, like a Spirit World on Earth. I want this, not just for you, but for your friends, ALL the future generations! I abandoned you at that orphanage to give you freedom from parentage, let you see what it means to roam free, but now that you're with me, I want you to help me realize that dream! Won't you?"

His eye was trembling with excitement. Wendy was frightened a little. "But… true freedom… how will that work? I like running around and all, but… If we didn't have rules, bad people would be free to do bad things, no one would stop anyone from fighting. U-Unless you mean to establish a morality system with creating it."

"No, that's the thing! We'll create the universe, place the people inside, but from there it's on them. I want every person to live with absolute freedom, feeling no pressuring ties with gods who might be watching. Any life that they decide should be their decision, not a king's, not even parents. I will create a world where everyone knows the freedom that I—that YOU knew. You will never be hunted anymore, Wendy, the World Government will have no say. Join me in destroying them, so we may accomplish that dream."

"D-Destroy them? But what do THEY have to do with this?"

"They are trying to interfere with us, they only want a world of law and rule. THEIR law. To find true freedom, we must sacrifice, and since they try to rob us of freedom, we must destroy them. Then, in death, they will understand. Wendy, why wouldn't you want this? They, who've been trying to take your freedom, capture you."

"I know, and I'm angry at them for it! But I never wanted to have freedom… at least, not exactly. I wanted a family—I wouldn't have cared if they set up some rules as long as they loved me. Running around everywhere, seeing the world… It really is a lot of fun, but seeing all those children with friends and families… made me feel empty. I really don't like fighting or hurting people, but I don't agree with you OR the Government. I…I think there needs to be a balance."

"Indeed, it was the gods that designed the original Balance of Light vs. Darkness. But if we were the gods, we could establish our own Balance. A wise airbender named Guru Laghima once said 'New growth cannot commence without the destruction of the old.' I believe the Apocalypse represents this belief. The Apocalypse will destroy the universe, giving us the chance to recreate it anew. Recreate it… better."

"But the Apocalypse will kill everyone we love. I don't want that to happen."

"It will not kill everyone… If nothing else, we will rescue the young generations, and I will teach them what true freedom means. They will help me in creating this free universe, and they will have you to guide them also."

"I just don't know, Dad. There's going to be bad people that will abuse their freedom, abuse it by hurting people."

"And with nothing to hold them down, those people will fight back!"

"So everyone's fighting each other! I don't want a world like that!"

"You need not fear, Wendy, because in a world of true freedom, there will be no need for conflict. Everybody will be happy, and it will be thanks to us."

"You sound very ascertained." They turned around as Carla walked out from behind her stalagmite. "But for someone who boasts about freedom and detaching children from their parentage, you have an awful lot of expectations for your daughter."

"Carla!" Wendy said in slight surprise. "How did you find us?"

"I ran after you… Not easy for someone without wings."

"Well, regrettably, I have my own limitations in my teachings." Vaati blushed. "I want my daughter to act freely and not feel burdened by me… but I want to avow my philosophy to everyone. Once I do, everybody will desire to pursue their dreams, feeling no fear in doing so. I truly believe it is the right way, and Wendy can understand as well."

"Well, that is a brighter way of looking at it…" Wendy smiled. "I guess everyone deserves to be who they wanna be… It's just…"

"It's just there has to be some limitations." Carla said with paws on her hip. "Parents, for instance, have a responsibility to raise and protect their children."

"A house pet wouldn't know anything about freedom, I suppose." Vaati shrugged. "But perhaps you can learn a few things, too."

"Maybe we should just not talk about it." Wendy suggested. "I was having a good time… I wanna just enjoy the planet."

"You're right, Dear." Vaati smiled. "I'm sorry for jumping into this so quickly. Perhaps we should look for Dr. Facilier and your friends. Would you like to race?"

"Heh heh, sure!" Wendy beamed. "Hold on tight, Carla!" She picked her kitten up and joined her father on the imaginary start line. …A shadow fell over them. They looked up, seeing a fleet of ships with red "R"s painted on their hulls. "What're those?"

"Not of this world." Vaati glared. "In fact… I feel a disturbing power."

 **Twinkle Park**

Arlon treated the kids to Blue Moon Ice Cream, which packed a taste like blueberries that were plucked from the sky… according to Diwata's first reaction. Lulu and Leanne were sitting on a park bench and watching the others play. Lee Andrew and Denny were playing Dodge Moon with the local Lunarian kids, and Diwata, Crest, and Lapis were playing with the Ice Climbers in the snow, which was conjured by the latter. "Well, Crest came out of that fast." Leanne noticed.

"Well, he's like the moon." Lulu figured. "He changes a lot! Mood swings and all."

"I guess so." Leanne laughed. "You know… I think I understand why Arceus made the Firstborn kids."

"Why?"

"To show us that the gods aren't much different from us." The Ice Climbers dressed Crest up like a snowman, and Diwata tried to eat him like a snowcone. They laughed. "I mean, when you take away the part about them being supremely powerful beings who created the universe, the gods are… basically human…ish."

"Not very." Lulu said. The girls laughed. "But still, do you really think Crest could stop the Apocalypse?"

"Not really… If he could, then there would be no point to this Twenty Keys thing. But it will be nice to have another Firstborn on our side."

"You know, our parents say Jirachi was the original Kids Next Door operative. If he is, then maybe the Firstborn were the… original KND sector. Sector First!"

"You might be right! And after all these years, they're still part of the team!"

"And now Crest can join that team!"

Dr. Facilier lay under a nearby tree, growing drowsy and smiling from the noise of the carefree children. He looked at the stars and could only see Wendy's vibrant smile. _I'm sure you're happy right now, too. Finally found yo' dad. …I guess you won't want me for a teacher, anymore. Oh well… Have to learn to let go, I guess._

Sonny and Donna gave Crest their Blue Moons, and the Firstborn stuffed both ice cream chunks in his mouth, earning laughs from his friends. He might have been a Firstborn… but he was a person all the same. He wondered if his Firstborn brethren felt the same, if they casually interacted with mortal children because they were the same. They were carefree children in a carefree world, and even if they were mortal, he was glad to be among them. (End song. :()

It wasn't long before the peace was ruined by the roaring engines of ships surrounding the park. _"Prepare for trouble, you know peace doesn't last!"_

 _"Make it double, it goes away fast!"_

 _"All the way across the galaxy!"_

 _"It's time we realize our destiny!"_

The roof of the flagship opened, and out came Jessie, James, Cassidy, and Butch in gorgeous indigo dresswear that made them blend in with the night. "Oh, but what is it that I see?" sang Jessie. "Little twerps, and I think they might pee!"

"I smell a fragrant scent in the air." James whiffed his rose. "Perhaps the new parfume in my hair."

"Maybe we'll give them a pretty song." Cassidy smirked. "I don't see what could go wrong."

"I think that you're right." Butch followed. "We'll sing with all our love and might!"

Meowth jumped in front. "But we'll save it for next chapter! Goooood NIGHT!"

"WOOOOB-buffet!"

 _"Chiiiiiime!"_

* * *

 **So yeah, shout out to my anonymous wiki commenter who wanted to see some Atnort/Annaira bonding. 'Course, they thought it would be during Yellow Diamond, but that ended up not happening, but then I remembered Thanos! XD Two Darknesses are alien invaders, two Darknesses are pirates… you connecting the dots? XD Specifically, this Thanos comes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Also, lazy author uses _Zelda_ monsters in a Marvel universe. XP And may I just say, _Tropical Freeze_ music tears at my heartstrings. 3X Next time, Team Rocket rocks the moon with the Logia of Logias! ;D Later!**


	28. Change

**Last time, Team Rocket showed up. And I think they were gonna sing for us. Let's watch!**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-28: Change_**

 **Lunaria; Twinkle Park**

 _We hail from Team Rocket_

 _We have come to join the fight!_

 _The universe is darkness_

 _But we will make it light!_

"JESSIE!"

"James!"

"Cassidy!"

"Butch!"

"This is random." Lee said.

Meowth made a pose alongside Sonny and Donna, who crossed their hammers. _"Meoooowwth, that's riiiiiight_ —WHO THE HECK ARE YOU TWO?!"

 _"We want in, too!"_ they sang.

"IT'S OUR SONG!" James kicked them to the sky. "Off with you!"

 _"We're screeeewwwwed!"_

Both twins crashed at different times, contributing to the rhythm. Jessie sang the next line.

 _Love is justice, which is evil_

 _A common trick, a con!_

 _We're the stars, don't you see?_

 _Today's our day of Pokémon!_

James sang with a charming voice:

 _If you think your dreams are real_

 _Then reality will be nightmare_

 _Soon, we will have command_

 _Here! Watch me open a flower!_

James waved his fingers over a closed red flower and made it bloom.

Spotlights hit the hatch behind them. A muscular cyborg was the one to rise, John-Plank 20x40. The cyborg turned as Plank sang in his magnificent British accent.

 _Does my voice… not make you swooooon? (Ooooo!)_

A chorus of female Planks sang to him.

 _Do you wish to seek solace from foreseeable dooooom? (Ooooooo!)_

 _Well, we are here to put an end to your gloom!_

 _Take shelter, under my fragrant parfuuuuuume!_

Plank made sexy poses and sprayed himself with Marker Perfume, which made him smell like different-colored markers. He bent Johnny's robot arms behind him and shook his hip to further boaster his sexy appeal. With that, all the Rocket Agents sang together.

 _TEAM ROCKET'S ROCKIN'_

 _Talkin' trouble, walkin' trouble_

 _BIG trouble's gonna foooollow you!_

 _TEAM ROCKET'S_ ("Rockin'!" sang Jessie.)

 _Prepare for trouble, make it double_

 _'Cause BIG trouble's gonna fooooollow you!_

Without warning, John-Plank shot his extendo arms, snatched Crest, and pulled him away from the kids' grasp. Lapis Lazuli flew up to take him back, but John-Plank made a terrific leap into the low-gravity air.

 _"We're gonna catch the Firrrrstborn, tooooooo."_ The cyborg flipped in midair during descent, and surprised Lapis with an electric net when he came back around. The Fairy Princess lay powerless and trapped in the painful net as John-Plank made land on their flagship.

"IT'S TEAM ROCKET!" Leanne exclaimed. "They're bad guys who try to steal other peoples' Pokémon! HA! Now I got to say it, too. Beat THAT, Aurora!"

"Who ARE YOU unruly rapscallions?!" Arlon demanded.

"Your new rulers!" Giovanni's throne lowered from a bottom hatch, his loyal Persian by his side. "I was the first person to see Crest after Sunni Chariton created him. I had been watching the girl for some time, curious on the extent of her psychic power. The fact she was even able to conjure a Firstborn… it seemed unreal to me. But his anatomy was so much like one… so I thought, if anyone knew, it would be the Lunarians."

"What traitorous Lunarian would tell you anything about Master Crest?"

"YOU, Mr. Arlon." Giovanni smirked. "Did you think your Lunar Sanctum crashing to the earth would go unnoticed? It was clearly Lunarian technology, so I scoured its ruins. Not only did I find old tomes that told of the arrival of Crest… I was able to come by the person who guided me here today!"

Arlon gasped, horrified. "You can't mean…"

Jessie and James performed a drumroll, while Cassidy and Butch waved Pompoms. "Making his FIRST public appearance in over 8,000 years," Meowth announced, "we are PROUD to introduce the living legend! The one… the only… ACNOLOGIA!"

Another hatch opened on the bottom of the ship, dropping a figure to the indigo ground. It was a man with long, spiky white hair and black pants. Dr. Facilier gazed at him with great curiosity. Lee and Leanne exchanged glances and were about to approach- "Keep away, children!" Arlon cautioned. "This man is beyond your years. …But then again, so is he…"

John-Plank stuffed Crest inside a glass capsule before extracting a controller. Under his control, Acnologia pushed himself up with his single left arm. The kids braced their guard when he was up on his feet. His muscular tan skin was burned in several places and he had blue dragon tattoos. His sharp blue eyes shot to Arlon, who flinched. "Let them rip." Giovanni commanded.

 _"RAAAAH!"_ Acnologia tackled Arlon, snapping one of his arms off with his teeth and yanking the other arm off with his hand.

"DAD! !" Lapis cried.

Logia kicked Arlon away, and Dr. Facilier cast quick spells from his Devil's Wand. The shots didn't phase Logia's Logia body. The moonbender leapt and kicked Facilier 50 yards away. Lee Andrew blasted him with his G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A., accompanied by his shadow's… even Sonny and Donna weren't amused by the simple gumballs. Acnologia snarled and stomped toward the boy. Lee gulped, fearing he would disintegrate by the simple touch.

Vaati appeared faster than the wind and threw Lee away, then dodged Logia's attack with the same speed. "Lee, I got you!" Wendy jumped and caught her friend.

"Thanks, Wendy! And love the new outfit!"

"Ha ha!"

"I wish her father would give her shoes back." Carla stated.

"CAAAARLAAAAA!" Smitten with love at the female kitten, Meowth jumped off the ship and sprinted toward her. "Fate has brought us together ag-!"

Carla KICKED him in the face. "Brought my foot to your face, more like!"

"So hard-boiled!" He fell over, flushing madly.

"I can't believe it!" Vaati stared wide at the man before him. "The living legend… Is it really you, Acnologia?"

Sonny and Donna froze Lapis's electric net and broke her free. "Back when my friends and I formed the Fairy Sisters, Acnologia was revived as a zombie by Zeref." Lapis explained. "But I thought he was destroyed with the other ones?"

"I was astonished when I conducted my autopsy on him." Plank explained. "His body still contained life force, and it was not as decayed as it should have been, given the ages. And so we sought to revive him… and control him at that. Like a Frankenweenie, hm hm hm." Acnologia growled at the cyborg. "The way he pounces and snarls, you wouldn't think he was ever-"

Acnologia threatened to blast him with a Lunar Beam— _"OOOAAAARRRGH!"_ Plank shocked him with the microbots.

"To keep your soul bound to your body for thousands of years… you were a wizard like no other, Mr. Logia." Giovanni said. "But while you may have been the ruler of your era, THIS era belongs to Team Rocket!"

"It belongs to NO ONE!" Vaati roared. "How DARE you steal the freedom of this passed soul! You vile scum!"

"ACK! It's da Man Wit' the Red Eye!" Meowth panicked.

"The Revolutionary!" Giovanni realized. "I haven't seen him in person since he killed President Osborn. Acnologia, destroy him!"

John-Plank controlled the Logia and made him slash his claw at Vaati, but the wind mage took to the air and faced Team Rocket. The agents yelped and braced each other when Vaati lunged at them, but John-Plank shot a ball that projected an electric barrier with a chi-block, zapping Vaati and blowing him back. "I never like to use my Chi Shield in a fair fight, but against a powerful opponent like yourself, I will make exceptions."

Acnologia jumped, grabbed Vaati's leg, and slammed him to the ground. Logia raised his arm and charged energy, but Vaati turned into a tornado and spun him around. _"ROOAAAR!"_ The tornado dispersed due to Logia's bellow. Seeing all the children surrounding him, Acnologia clutched the ground and increased the gravity, forcing everyone to lay flat. The pressure only grew, and they thought they would pop like grapes in seconds. _"AAAAAHH!"_ Logia was shocked by Plank.

"You will have your fun in time, Acnologia." Giovanni promised. "But we have other items on our agenda. Take us to the Night Palace where the Lunar Magic rests. Then, you may destroy Lunaria as you see fit."

Acnologia sprouted a pair of massive, black dragon wings. He shot a murderous glare to Team Rocket before taking off in the desired direction. "We'll drop our Pokémon off in case those kids follow us!" Butch suggested as the ships followed Logia's direction.

"Teddiursa, keep them busy for a while!" Cassidy tossed her teddybear-size Pokémon out of its ball.

"Urrrrse?" The adorable creature touched a finger to its chin.

"Awwww, aren't you a cutie!" Denny approached Teddiursa. "I dunno if they planned to distract us with adorableness, but it almost-"

"URSA!" It grabbed Denny and slammed him back and forth. "URS! ("Ow!") Urs! ("Ah!") URS! ("YOW!") URSAAAA!" The bear spun around and hurled Denny yards away. "Ursa?" It faced the others curiously.

"Dad!" Lapis grabbed her father's arms and stuck them to their appropriate places. She used waterbending to heal the cracks. "Dad, are you okay?"

"I will be fine, Lapis… cough! Leave me be! You must rescue Master Crest!"

"But how will I fight Acnologia?"

"I will help you." Vaati avowed. "I am a Logia and I use Haki. It will be my speed against his strength. Would you join me, Wendy?"

"Against that monster?!" Carla exclaimed. "Absolutely not!"

"I did not ask you, Cat!"

"But Dad, I can't fight a wizard as powerful as Acnologia!" Wendy said doubtfully. "Isn't there something we can do?"

"Dad, how was Acnologia defeated the first time?" Lapis asked.

"In exchange for my loyalty to Viridi, she persuaded Celebi to fight the monster. I fear we may need the aid of a Firstborn in this fight. But Crest is the only one available. If Miss Diwata truly is the Firstborn Guardian, then she must retrieve the Spirit Ball in Crescent Canyon."

"(For a planet as big as this, they can only have so many locations with moon names.)" Lee commented.

"But doesn't Dee have to learn some kind of important moral to awaken as a Guardian?" Lulu questioned. "Or at least complete a trial?"

"We don't have TIME for TRIAAAALS!" Diwata whined, shaking her arms. "We gotta get the ball and beat up Acneloogy!"

"Cough!" Arlon hacked. "I do not know if certain requirements must be met… For now, you must venture across Crescent Canyon and collect the Spirit Ball. Perhaps then you will be recognized as the Guardian."

"But I don't know where that is!"

"Use this!" Vaati handed her a golden compass with a round glass case over the needle. "You must focus your desire to find the Spirit Ball into this Grand Compass. It will point you in the right direction."

"Okay. Mmmmm…!" Diwata narrowed her eyes at the compass and repeated the phrase in her mind, _I want to find the Spirit Ball, gimme the Spirit Ball!_ Eventually, the needle was set in a specific direction.

"Do you need me to run and carry you there?" Wendy asked.

"It's okay, Wendy, we'll take her to the ball!" Sonny declared.

"Meanwhile, you have a date with Daddy!" Donna winked.

 _"Incest is a sin!"_ both chorused. _"And we go!"_ They grabbed Dee-Dee and surfed across the landscape on an ice path.

"Are you sure you don't need my help, Dad?" Lapis asked with worry.

"Yes, Lapis, I assure you my injuries are the least of my concerns! Just go save Crest! Hurry!"

Lapis growled; she hated to have to leave her father again, after being away for thousands of years. But for the sake of saving her world from a terrible fate, she stretched her wings and flew to the Night Palace.

"Wendy, will you come?" Vaati held a hand to her. "Will you save this world with me?"

"Do you really think I'm… ready to fight by you, Dad?"

Vaati smiled. "I do."

"…Then I will!" Wendy grabbed her father's hand. Vaati tossed her up on his back and flew across the moonlit valleys.

"CHILD, YOU FORGOT ME AGAIN!" Carla shouted furiously. "Just because you found someone NEW to carry you, I think I deserve a ride on YOUR back!"

"I was left behind too, Carla!" Meowth put his arm around her. "Let's be abandoned together!" Carla glared at him.

Next second, Meowth's arms were pulled behind him as Carla pressed him against the ground. "Just what are your criminal friends after?!"

"Aaaaack, they're after the Lunar Magic! It's this planet's power source, da boss was gonna use it to catch all the other Firstborn!"

"Well, we can't just stand here, we need to help Wendy, too!" Lee shouted.

"After Diwata gets the Spirit Ball, she'll need a lift to where they are!" Leanne reasoned. "Let's go to the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. and be ready to get her."

"Good idea. I really hope Crest can beat him…"

As soon as the kids had left, Dr. Facilier cast magic strings to link Arlon's arms back to his body. "That should hold you for a while." The doctor said as he lifted him to his feet.

"I have dreaded the possibility Acnologia could return…" Arlon reflected. "I confined his slow-decaying body in my Lunar Sanctum for 8,000 years. I hoped his body was lost in the sanctum's destruction… What a fool I was."

"It's gonna be alright. You seen what the Kids Next Door can do, they can beat that guy."

"Have _these_ operatives faced a monster like Acnologia? I would be hopeful if the chap who defeated Viridi were here, but he is not. What does this entourage have to its name? What of your student?"

"You just have to have faith. We're going to save Lunaria and those kids are gonna help. Don't forget who it was that defeated you last time."

"I was beaten by a _clown_."

 **Crescent Canyon** (Play "Twilight Terror Intro" from _Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze_!)

 _Stage B-22: Lunaria_

 _Mission: Find Crest's Spirit Ball!_

 _Act 2: Crescent Canyon_

Diwata and the Ice Climbers made a moon leap to a tall pillar over the canyon abyss, leaped to another one that was under a cliff, then leapt to that cliff. However, there was a Moon Medal floating in the trench between the two footholds, so Diwata dropped down to grab it, Wall Jumped out of the trench, then moon leaped to the cliff. Hooligons – green worms made of separate, outline block segments – bounced around the small field. Sonny and Donna had fun and knocked their individual segments off. The path continued above a taller cliff, so the twins each held one end of a rope as Sonny jumped, pulled it, and allowed Donna to fly higher. The female Climber pushed an average-size boulder down for both Dee and Sonny to leap and use the slow-falling rock as a boost to make it up.

The trio had to go up a narrow path where small rocks lit with Moon Fire were bouncing down in perfect rows. They came in stacks of three that bounced on each other at various heights, and when Sonny and Donna attempted to freeze the rocks, their ice proved ineffective. "You silly, icebending doesn't work on Moon Fire!" Diwata grinned. "You're just gonna have ta jump!" The three had to study the heights of the moon rocks and make accurate judgments on how high to moon-jump. They didn't get through without a few bumps to the head, but Diwata was quick to bend the Moon Fire off herself or the twins.

At the end of the path, they had to go between a trench with Longators standing on small ledges – white rectangular creatures who could stretch their necks. The three jumped together, and each of their long necks provided a boost for all three. Naturally, the Longators were far apart and required careful moon jumps. They landed on a path that led down to a field occupied by Lunatones. The crescent-shaped Pokémon used psychic and chucked rocks at the intruders. The kids couldn't progress due to a large barrier composed of Moon Chi, and there were boulders with crescent-shaped holes.

Sonny and Donna cast ice beams to freeze two Lunatones and have them drop, then they smashed them out of the ice. Dee-Dee shot fireballs at the third Lunatone, and during its stunned moment, she leapt and kicked it to the ground… though when the low-G force didn't weaken it, the Ice Climbers bashed it with their hammers. The kids stuck the Lunatones into their slots and dropped the barrier. There wasn't anywhere to jump over the abyss, but a string of Warpids began to materialize. The kids quickly jumped the living energy particles before they would disappear, and with their assistance, the explorers set foot on a cliffside. "Master Floop has taught us well in the ways of animal abuse." Sonny bowed.

"And since it's a videogame, it's both fun AND non-endangering!" Donna beamed. The cliffside path sloped down at a steep angle and would curve up at a ramp, meant to fly them across a long jump to a path. The Ice Climbers froze the path, but since the low gravity wouldn't allow for enough momentum, Diwata sat down, and Sonny hit her like a hockey puck, sliding her down with enough force for her to fly up to the path. The Climbers blasted ice behind them to boost down and fly up, too. They had to fight past some Lunatones before coming to a row of water spouts leading across the chasm.

Sonny and Donna froze the tops of the spouts into a path, but mini flame comets were raining down and steadily melting the ice. The group hurriedly jumped across, taking some hits from the comets, and Dee was able to grab a Moon Medal and make it to the end before the ice completely melted. The next challenged involved several small platforms that were frozen in red ice. Diwata's personal Moon Fire couldn't melt them, but the flames from the nearby torches could suffice.

After jumping the small platforms, they arrived at a field frozen in spiky red ice, with some Moon Torches placed. Diwata bent the fire to burn a path through the ice, but she was forced to go in the directions of other Moon Torches. There were creatures called Brr Bits – small floating red ice volcanoes – that kept refreezing the path, so Diwata had to shoot Moon Fire to melt them. They eventually made it to a safe foothold, overlooking another red ice field, but this time larger flame comets were raining down and burning spaces for them to jump. They did so before Brr Bits could freeze the spots, and the road would bring them to a towering wall of red ice.

Diwata used her bending to catch the meteorites and chuck them at the barrier, the ice steaming as chunks of it began to collapse. After fifteen strikes, the red ice wall crumbled completely, exposing the altar within the mountain. The trio moon leaped over the chasm and set foot on the base before stylishly leaping up the thin stairs. The top of the altar was surrounded by pillars with busts depicting phases of the moon. Under the bust of the full moon, which was glowing, sat a Pokéball that was whitish-blue and had crater markings. (End song.)

"Dat dada daaaahhh!" Diwata raised the Pokéball in victory. "I got a Pokébaaaaall!"

"Your journey as an eternal 10-year-old starts now!" The twins cheered.

A white glow appeared in the sky. Diwata, Sonny, and Donna gazed at the majestic light as the Moon Goddess, Cresselia appeared in all her beauty. _"Firstborn Guardian of the Moon… you are mere moments from learning your destiny. To claim the Firstborn and mark yourself as the Guardian… you must master the Lunar Magic that powers this world. But as the moon is a body of change… only one who knows great change can possess the Power of Moon."_ She ascended to the sky and the light was gone.

There was a roaring of an engine, and a C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. now occupied the space above. "There you are, Dee-Dee! We tracked your communicator!" Leanne yelled. "Did you find the Spirit Ball?"

"I DIIIIID!" Dee-Dee cheered and waved the ball. "Right heeere, right heeeere!"

"Cool, then let's get going to the Night Palace!" Lee declared. "Acnologia's not destroying ANY planets tonight!"

"ALL RIIIIIGHT! LET'S GO!"

 **Night Palace**

The Night Palace was a huge Arabian-style palace of shiny blue color, suspended above a deep crater. The Team Rocket fleet had arrived, flying over the top tower. "HAAA!" Lapis Lazuli slashed large blades of water and destroyed a few ships, but when Giovanni's crew saw her sights locked on them, John-Plank commanded Acnologia to fly over and kick her out of the sky. She landed on a palace walkway, quickly recovering and shooting up as a water drill, but Logia easily batted her away with his wings. Rocket Agents sent Nidoqueen and Nidoking to grab the Fairy Princess.

Wendy and Vaati made it to the edge of the crater and saw the conflict from below. "Wendy, I'm going to challenge Acnologia! Find the Lunar Magic and protect it, and attack any Rocket Agent you see!"

"I WILL, Father!" Wendy declared with pure confidence. "I'll do everything I can to STOP them!"

"You've come so far, Wendy. I can't wait to join you even further!" The wind mage shot up to Acnologia and laid a storm of fast Haki kicks. Wendy leapt down to the bridge to Night Palace and raced forth. (Play "Unawakening Float" from _Sonic and the Secret Rings_!)

 _Act 3: Night Palace_

Wendy sidestepped the Thunder Shocks cast by Rocket Agents' Magnemites, and at the end of the bridge, the mage had to jump across a series of Magnemites to a platform. Wendy ran across a glass walkway whose various segments were being shattered by Skarmory shooting up from below, but after dodging their holes, Wendy ran up a stairway that winded left. On this new path, giant spears flew out of portals from afar in attempt to pierce Wendy, but she jumped on them, ran up, and jumped to the next until she could make the moon leap into a palace entrance.

Absols stood on pillars and lashed crescent beams at Wendy, who dodged and cast the Leg-Locker Spell to bring them off their feet. She cast stun spells at the two Rocket Agents on jetpacks before going up some stairs to a new hall. The floor vanished, but Wendy quickly jumped on an energy rail to grind across, setting foot on the opposite floor as she ran through a doorway. This room provided an illusion of a dimension of moons, and when the path ended, Wendy jumped to a moon and ran loops over it, able to do so using the mini moon's gravity. She had to jump to a higher moon, then a moon on the right, then Wendy could jump to a stable platform.

Quilavas shot fire at her from the stairs, but Wendy cast Aguamenti to defeat the Fire-types. The stairs curved left and led Wendy to a path of floating, vertically-turning pillars. The pillars had rails on each side for Wendy to grind on, and had to jump pillars before she either rolled off or the pillars turned too high for her to land on them. After clearing this section, a doorway brought her outside the normal palace, where Wendy ran up some stairs before hitting a spring, which bounced her to two other springs that would land her on a round palace roof.

Wendy ran three laps around the roof before a magic blue path appeared to take her higher up the palace. Wendy was set on a platform, and using moon leaps, she jumped to other such platforms that were all distant. A group of Gulpins tried to gulp her on one of them, but she kept their hunger satisfied by casting Avis, sending birds in their mouths. The next platform was further, but two Magnemites were available for her to bounce on. Wendy stunned two Rocket Agents, then she had to leap and Air Boost to a new foothold and go up stairs into the palace.

A narrow stairway winded up the massive vacant tower, and Wendy jumped the Donphans rolling down. The tower's space seemed to stretch before her eyes, and the stairs shifted in angle when Wendy was suddenly running up the tower's wall. Rocket Agents were screaming and falling due to a change in their own perspective, and Wendy decided to stun each one she passed by. The space stretched up as Wendy ran on the ceiling, but only for a few seconds before she ran into a warp. She was outside and running across a bridge to the highest tower of the palace, and inside was another winding stairwell. A column of blue energy was in the center of the tower, and as Wendy neared to the top, she believed she would see its core. (End song.)

Vaati kicked Acnologia three times across the face with Armament Haki, flew away when he slashed his claw, then returned with a Screw Kick that sent Logia into a palace tower. A Lunar Beam shot out of the wreckage, Vaati swiftly dodged, then Logia shot up to slash him in the chest three times before punching Vaati to the sky. Vaati rocketed back down, so Logia lit his fist aflame and swung a punch, but Vaati dodged underneath, then to Logia's side, before blowing a sudden gust of wind that slammed Logia against the top of the largest tower.

Vaati flew up and stood on the roof of that tower as Logia got up to face him. Their desire to abolish the other was strong. Acnologia inhaled a great portion of Moon Chi in the atmosphere, while Vaati inhaled the air. The wind mage spun into a tornado that darkened from Armament Haki, but Acnologia morphed into a body of Moon Fire and flew at Vaati like a comet. The two forces collided, Vaati's tornado setting aflame and Logia withstanding the shredding force of the Armament tornado.

Giovanni, Jessie, James, Cassidy, and Butch had entered the tower's chamber. A giant yellow crescent moon with a smiling face sat atop a platform, which seemed to channel a great flow of energy up from the planet's core, for the flow stretched far down into the crater. "So, this is the Lunar Magic… How marvelous." Giovanni grinned evilly.

"Boss, what is the Lunar Magic, anyway?" Jessie queried.

"One trillion years ago, God Arceus created the moons to seal the Netherverse's powerful Space Chi. But the Netherverse can be accessed from any point in the universe's matter, given the appropriate Space-Time Rifts. The truth is, it is not Space Chi alone that is contained in that dimension… but a great outpour of the force we call magic. This magic leaks into the universe at substantial rates, but to keep it from disrupting Time-Space, Arceus created the moons. And Lunaria, the greatest moon of all, contains the very core of that power. This Lunar Magic that the ancient Lunarians, with the help of Cresselia, designed this temple to regulate.

"This magic energy was closely intertwined with the Netherverse's Space Chi, resulting in the force called Moon Chi. It is from Moon Chi that other beings used to create magic. It started with simple rituals that utilized harnessed magic, but in time, the magic infected their bodies, became part of their bodies, in a manner that was unlike Element Chi. Thus, wizarding societies were established, and with the gods' help, people created laws regarding these magics. But Moon Chi combines nature and supernatural, and those who use it can be stronger than any wizard or bender. At least… this is what Ragaj Gnik told me."

"But if Moon Chi has the power of nature and magic…" Cassidy looked at the capsule encasing Crest they were carrying. "How did a psychic twerp create a Firstborn that could control it?"

"Even I have my doubts that Sunni's powerful psychicbending alone could create a god of this magnitude. Maybe His Lesser Lordship will tell me the rest. For now, Young Master Crest will harness this Lunar Magic. And Crest will be under the control of this Dark Ball!" He raised a black Pokéball. "Created from the Dark Chi on Mt. Gnaa, it corrupts any Pokémon and increases their abilities tenfold!"

"But would that even work on a Firstborn?!" James exclaimed.

"Let's find out! Release him!"

The agents opened the capsule. "NOOO!" Crest immediately tried to fly away, but James' Victreebel stretched vines up to grab him. Giovanni tossed the Dark Ball.

"HYAH!" Wendy Marvell jumped and kicked it away with perfect timing, flipping in midair before softly landing on the floor.

"HEY, we didn't invite any twerps to this party!" James yelled. "Weezing, use Sludge Attack!"

"Lickitung, use Lick!" Jessie freed her Pokémon as well.

 _"Weez!"_ The Siamese gas balls spewed a stream of sludge that Wendy blocked with a wind shield. Lickitung jumped behind her and stretched its long tongue. "AAAAHH!" Wendy shuddered crazily. "My new dress is drenched in slob, now I need to take a bath and wash it, oh but what if it gets ruined?! ?"

"That's it, Lickitung!" Jessie encouraged. "Keep licking!"

"Licki-Licki-Licki-Licki…" Wendy was squirming on the floor as the giant tongue wiggled and tickled her.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it, you're getting me all sticky- oh please don't get my feet- why didn't I spray myself with-…" She continued squirming and whining.

"Do you think 4Kids would cut this scene?" James asked.

"Jessie, I thought you traded Lickitung for Wobbuffet?" Cassidy inquired.

"We're Team Rocket, Cass, obviously I stole it back. But thanks for acknowledging our show's continuity."

"Woooobbuffet!" The blob popped out.

A few miles away, the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. was en route to the palace. "That must be it!" Lulu exclaimed. "And I see Team Rocket's ships, too!"

"You twoips are clawin' up the wrong tree!" Meowth declared, still being stood on by Carla. "With Acnologia on our side, there's no WAY you can-!" Lee aimed his G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. at him.

"You know all it takes is a single Powuh Shot to send you blasting off again! We watch the anime!"

"Acnologia's fighting with Wendy's dad!" Lulu reported. "What should we do?"

"Like the football-players and Numbuh One do!" Denny smirked confidently. "Ram him!"

"That sounds like something I would do!" Lee argued.

"But it sounds crazy enough to work." Leanne said. "Turn on the shield and smash him through the roof!"

"You got it!" Denny switched on the shield, boosted, and spun the ship as they rocketed to Acnologia. The dragon bender saw them coming. "The field is open! And iiiiIIIIIT'S…!"

Acnologia stopped the ship with his one hand and pushed back with great strength. "…Touchdown?"

Logia shot a Lunar Beam to blow the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. away. Vaati kicked the back of his head, but Logia leaped up, charged power to his fist, and smashed down, missing Vaati and breaking through the roof. Vaati jumped in after, and Sector RZ landed their ship on the roof before jumping in. "Wendy!" Lee aimed his G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. at Lickitung. "Lick on this, you slobbery weirdo."

"Lick-Lick-Lick-Lick-Lick-Lick-Lick-Lick-…" Lickitung caught several rounds of gumballs down his throat, and Wendy was able to get away. She saw John-Plank at the top of some stairs to a window, controlling Acnologia to attack her father. Wendy raced up the stairs and spun a whirlwind around her fist. "Sky Dragon CLAW!"

John-Plank faced her—Wendy's fist collided at Johnny's face. "Yodely-yodely yo-LAY-hoo!" The dimwit's head spun like a screw.

Plank grabbed her fist with their cyborg hand and threw Wendy off the stairs. He jumped down after and punched Wendy to the floor.

"Crest, I'll help you!" Diwata shot fire.

"Beeeel!" Victreebel screamed when its vines burned.

"Now's my chance!" Diwata tossed the Spirit Ball. "GO, Spirit Ball!"

"It can't be!" Giovanni exclaimed.

The Pokéball struck Crest and caught him inside. It softly rotated and descended in the air as it beeped. The ball popped open and released him. "It didn't work!" Lee yelled.

"Didn't that moon bird say you needed the Lunar Magic?" Donna asked.

"But I don't know what that is!" Dee yelled back. "Unless… it's that big moon thing?" She noticed the crescent moon with a face on the central platform.

"Wendy!" Carla rushed over to her fallen master. "Did he hurt you too badly?!"

"I'm fine, Carla." Wendy got back up. "It doesn't hurt so much in low gravity."

"Johnny, Plan Beta!" Plank ordered.

"You got it, buddy!" The cyborg leapt to Acnologia, took Plank's capsule off, and stuck it to the half-dragon's back. Acnologia bellowed when Plank's vines bore into his flesh.

"I am now one with your flesh and bone, Dear Logia! It's time for me to have the upper hand on this planet! No pun intended." With Plank controlling him, Acnologia charged at Wendy with the intention of tearing her with his flaming (single) left hand, but Vaati flew in front and dealt an Armament air slash.

"Acnologia! Don't let these fools control you! You have always been my Number 3 role model! Just behind Nolan York and Laghima, but still! You are a powerful wizard, I know you can fight this!"

"No creature commands ME!" Acnologia slashed his wings and scratched Vaati's chest, then punched the airbender to the wall. "I am Acnologia… the most powerful wizard! And I will become stronger…" His eyes were drawn to the Lunar Magic as Diwata carried Crest up the stairs to it.

"Crest, you have to help me control the Lunar Magic!" Dee yelled.

" **I** don't even know how to control it!"

"The Lunar Magic doesn't belong to children like you!" Logia flew up onto the walkway. "Out of my way or I will BURN you- AAAAHH!" Plank's vines tugged on his insides.

"Unfortunately, we do not want you to possess the Lunar Magic, either." The British board said. "Team Rocket will command it as soon as-"

Vaati blew Logia off the walkway, then zipped above and kicked him to the ground. "Well, Crest, should we just draw it in with our moonbending or something?" Diwata questioned.

"Beats any of my ideas." Crest shrugged. They both held their hands to it and tried to channel the Moon Chi. The Firstborn was easily able to absorb it, but Diwata was having a harder time. "Let me lend you some." Crest channeled the Lunar Magic to her body.

"AAAAAHH!" Dee winced in pain from the power. "Okay, this is gonna take some work!"

Vaati shot at Acnologia with swift kicks, flying ten feet away after each kick and back to him in seconds flat, and after Vaati dealt a combo of three kicks, he attempted to swing his fist. Acnologia caught the fist, and when Vaati applied the other arm, his strength was roughly equal to Logia's single arm. The ancient wizard flipped and stomped Vaati to the ground, then Acnologia forced Vaati's head down with his hand and began squeezing it.

"Oh, isn't this a surprising state of affairs?" Plank smiles wryly. Vaati was unable to pull Acnologia's hand away. "It must be an honor to be destroyed by your hero. Aren't you thankful that I restored his fallen body? Who would have thought that the great Plank would be the one who defeats the Man With the Red Eye."

"Dad!" Wendy dashed up to Logia, but he kicked back and hit her stomach, sending Wendy against the wall. The half-dragon faced up at Diwata trying to control the Lunar Magic. He threw Vaati away, but before he could fly up, an unseen force caught him. It was a shadow originating from Lee Andrew.

"Shadow Possession, you undead abomination!"

"Now it's OUR turn!" Sonny and Donna blasted ice beams at Logia, but he countered with Moon Fire breath and shot beams to blow the twins away.

"Hey, you're supposed to listen to me!" Lee yelled, trying to maintain the hold. Acnologia blue fire at his shadow, Damien screaming as it dispersed. Acnologia snarled at Lee and lunged at him.

"LEE!" Leanne sent her shadow to grab her brother and lift him out of harm's way. Acnologia snarled having lost his prey, and set his sights on the one responsible: Leanne Grayson. He rushed at Leanne, whose eyes saw the image of death in his form.

 _MASTER!_ Ash dropped Lee and flew back to her—Lee grabbed his G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. to shoot Acnologia, but the pellets flew through his intangible body. "LEANNE! !"

 _"AAAAAAH! . . ."_ Acnologia's sharp, murderous eyes were the last she saw.

He blasted a gaping hole in her chest. The universe seemed to mute and it all was slow motion. The three operatives couldn't bring their selves to move. Sonny and Donna didn't feel like smiling or laughing. Vaati choked on his breath. Even Team Rocket was stunned by the act. Wendy wanted to break down and cry.

The scene reflected off Diwata's eyes. Her eyes that were round and white as the moon… The girl that was so energetic and carefree felt that side of her slipping away.

 _"Only one who knows great change can possess the Power of Moon."_

A wave of dark fell over Dee's eyes, starting from the right, like the moon going from full to half to crescent to… nothing. Acnologia felt a rise in power and faced Diwata. He was unsatisfied with the meager kill just now, but the yellow-haired Lunarian felt oddly intimidating. His reflection was clear in her dark eyes…

The next second, Acnologia was blown out of the palace, crashing into the ground around the crater. "Ack!" Plank grunted. "Impossible! Get up, you daft fool! Are you going to let her humiliate you like some…?"

A blue fire burned on Acnologia's chest. Growling, the Logia stood, and the flame blossomed from his rage. _"AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUHHHHH!"_ His body set aflame.

"AH HA HA HA, OUCH OUCH OUCH!" Plank squirmed frantically—his face was melting from the fire. "STAH STAH STAH STAH, IT-SA SAH SAH SAH, SAAAAOOOOOW!"

Plank fell off, and before his melted eye, Acnologia transformed into a great black dragon with brimming blue markings. The dragon glared at the parasite that had been controlling him, his mouth open and fangs exposed. "Vile cretin, how DARE you burn your handler!" Plank scolded. "You will place me on your back and OBEY me! Or…" A blue light was rising from Logia's lungs, "Or…!" Plank could only feel fear in this moment. "Gulp! _Oh, poppy seeds!"_ his voice squeaked.

Acnologia's fire breath reduced Plank to a lesser existence than ash. The dragon returned his attention to the palace. Diwata Uno flew out of the tower like a blue comet, encased in a bright aura. She hovered over the chasm, eyes black with white lines around them, like a Solar Eclipse. Acnologia hissed. _"For 8,000 years, I slept in my own decaying body… awaiting the day I could rise again. I knew it was my destiny to become the most powerful man in the universe… ever since I lay my hands on that gem: the Octogan. It told me I was bound to reign supreme… but the Octogan haunted me. The Shimmers would not leave my dreams. And they continued to haunt my descendants for thousands of years…_

 _"And here I am… looking at a child who controls the Lunar Magic. Is this the universe's way of deceiving me? To make children who possess the power of the gods? Just… what type of era is this?"_

Diwata narrowed her eyes. "The era… of the Kids Next Door." (Play "Gaul 2" from _Spyro: The Eternal Night_!)

 _Boss fight: Acnologia_

Acnologia charged a Lunar Beam and unleashed it at Diwata as she flew around the dragon. Dee-Dee grasped the ground in her hands, sprouting crystals up under Logia's feet. The dragon stormed forward and gnashed its fangs at Diwata, who pushed a hand and foot to Logia's mouth and kept it open. She flew away, then rammed into Logia's chest to shove him over the cliff, but he recovered with his dragon wings and spat giant fireballs at his opponent. Diwata sprouted blocks made of Moon Chi, serving as a perfect shield. She then conjured a warp pipe, jumped inside, and came out behind Acnologia as she spewed a beam at the dragon's wings.

Acnologia whipped around and smacked Diwata and her warp pipe out of the air. Diwata recovered and centered the gravity around Acnologia, bringing a storm of moon meteors to strike him. Logia easily whacked the moons away with his wings and tail, but wasn't prepared when Diwata stabbed a large moonlight-made scythe into his chest. Logia grabbed Diwata and slammed her against the ground several times before leaving her in a crater. He charged a Lunar Beam and fired, but Diwata countered with her own power and withstood his terrific power. She was left exhausted afterward.

Arlon and Dr. Facilier were examining the battle from the former's ship. "Is Miss Diwata… clashing with Acnologia?" Arlon fixed his monocle.

"Told ya not to underestimate these kids."

Two water arms wrapped around Acnologia's neck and froze. Lapis Lazuli struggled to pull the dragon back. "Hurry, get up! I got him distracted!" The dragon broke free and snapped his teeth at the fairy, but Lapis dodged and threw a storm of droplets that became icicles – which merely phased through his body. Logia screamed when a pair of moon-made teeth bit his tail, conjured by Diwata. The Lunarian flew upward and spawned more comets, but Logia blocked with his wing. The tattoos on his wings came to life and flew at Dee in the form of snake-dragons, but she was quick to dodge their teeth. Acnologia flew up and batted her away with his tail.

Acnologia opened a portal above Diwata and dropped a Lunar Onix on her – a Pokémon Onix made of blue moon rocks. Diwata threw him off, but Acnologia seized the chance to smash Dee under his hand. A giant water sphere encased him, controlled by Lapis, who attempted to freeze the dragon. Logia's eyes flashed, and the area was shrouded in blackness. Lapis saw the dragon's ravenous blue eyes in the darkness, and when she felt his mouth shoot up to eat her, she performed a spinning water wheel and went through his intangible mouth.

Light returned to the area, but it was a horribly bright saturation that made everything almost white. Diwata commanded the chi that created this brightness to fly at Logia's head, and the dragon tried to break the bright blasts with his Lunar Beam. He just missed Lapis, who flew to throw a water slice, but the dragon swatted her away like a fly. The fairy bounced on the ground a few miles away before stopping on her front, looking up. "Sigh… I can't hurt him, anyway. Just have to leave it to her."

Acnologia spawned dark crystals in the air around Diwata, and when she flew away, he spawned another crystal patch to stick her. Diwata fell to the ground, then Acnologia increased the surface's gravity to steadily crush his opponent. With one more sudden thrust of gravity, Diwata was too weak to move. Acnologia landed and picked her up.

"Oh, no! She's too tired, she's going to be eaten!" Lulu yelled.

"No…" Wendy struggled to restrain her tears. Lee was still crying over Leanne, and his friends' words only festered the wound.

Without waiting, Acnologia threw Diwata into his mouth and swallowed her whole. _"Finally… after 8,000 years, the Lunar Magic is mine to control. I am the most powerful wizard in all of existence… and for the rest of eternity, I shall-"_ There was a rumbling in his stomach. _"What…"_ He fell to his knees. The dragon felt a powerful buildup in his bowels. _"No… How is this happening?! I am the King of Dragons! Moon Chi is my nourishment… I will not be sickened by a simple crumb-!"_

Acnologia exploded, his parts blowing everywhere. Some fell into the abyss, and a gooey puddle was left where he stood. The dragon's head hit the ground and shrunk to Acnologia's gaping human form. Diwata was left standing in the puddle, brimming with the Lunar Magic's energy. (End song.)

"Ohhhh…" Diwata dropped to her knees. The energy flew back to the Night Palace to reunite with the Lunar Magic. Lapis returned to her aid, as did Arlon and Facilier after they landed.

"She really used up a lot of energy." Lapis said, moving her Healing Touch around Dee's body.

"Did that girl truly command the Lunar Magic?" Arlon asked. "Even us Moon Sages cannot accomplish such a feat. How could she…?"

Giovanni saw the battle from a palace bridge. With Acnologia gone, he had lost his advantage, so he sought to find the nearest Team Rocket ship. He turned—Vaati was floating over him. "Red Eye!"

Vaati kicked the man upside the chin, and he stumbled forward. "Giovanni… The leader of Team Rocket. Former Corporate President and a Pokémon hunter. What a horrid man you are."

Giovanni grabbed a gun and shot Vaati, but the bullets passed through his Logia wind body as Vaati blew the gun out of his hand. He shot a gust at Giovanni and knocked him on his back. "Dad, there you are!" Wendy was running across the bridge with Carla.

Giovanni held his aching head. _"Uuu- u- uck!"_ His eyes swelled red when his very breath rose out of his mouth.

"DAD, what're you doing?!" Wendy exclaimed in horror.

"A man like you has no right to rob the freedom of any creature. Freedom is as vital as air. To steal it… would be to steal the air they breathe." Giovanni was rasping.

"Dad, please stop!"

"And one who disrespects the value of freedom does not respect breath. You will be rid of your breath. You will be set free."

"DAD, STOP IT, STOP! !" Wendy jumped and grabbed her father's arms.

"HUUUU!" The breath slurped back into Giovanni's lungs and he was saved.

"Wendy, what's wrong with you?! Because of this man, your friend has been killed, robbed of her freedom to live!"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I WANT HIM TO DIE!" Tears spilled down her face.

"Men like him will only continue to rob others of their freedom! We must grant him freedom as a spirit, it's the only way!"

"I DON'T WANNA SEE ANYONE ELSE DIE!" Wendy fell to her knees and cried. "Dad, I'm really angry at this man for what he did, I really am… but I don't want to kill him. Please don't, Dad…"

It hurt Vaati to see his daughter upset… He didn't know what to do next.

A metal hand reached down and grabbed Giovanni, pulling him to a Meowth ship piloted by the Meowth Trio, plus Cassidy and Butch. "Let's blow this joint and get OUTTA here!" Meowth shouted.

"Sorry to jet, Lunaria, but we're in a hurry!" Cassidy yelled.

"We'll send you a postcard!" James followed.

 _"Team Rocket's cowering away agaaaaiiin!"_ They took off like a twinkle in the sky. _Twinkle._

Vaati pulled his daughter to her feet as she cried still. "I'm sorry you had to see that… but you must understand, Wendy. The path to true freedom is not easy. When there are evil people who will kill innocent people… sometimes, we must kill the evil ones. You may not believe in true freedom now… but if you do not learn to kill, the greater battles will become arduous."

Wendy sobbed a little. "…Let us return to your friends." her father said. He calmly led Wendy back to the central chamber. Carla followed, glaring at Vaati with utmost suspicion.

 **Lunar Altar**

Lapis was unable to heal the gaping wound in Leanne's chest. Their Sector Leader was gone before the mission could see completion. "So that is why…" Arlon observed. "As the moon is a body that changes… only one who could experience great change can control the Lunar Magic. But the change was so sudden to Diwata's eyes." The girl in question was hanging over Denny's shoulders, panting. "She abruptly took control of the magic and fought Acnologia. And when Acnologia swallowed her, the Lunar Magic was too much for even his body to digest. He destroyed himself in the end…"

"And for what?" Lee sniffled. "Leanne's dead! She's dead and it's all my fault!"

"But it isn't your fault, Lee." Wendy said.

"No, it is! I wanted to have an adventure that people could remember… Whether I was the Chosen One or Dee, I wanted to do something that our parents and friends would talk about with everyone. And now… sniff!"

"But it wasn't for nothing." Vaati said. "As tragic as it was… Diwata was able to command the Lunar Magic. Perhaps now…"

He didn't need to finish, as Diwata had enough strength to stand on her own. Crest floated down to her. "Dee… Are you alright?" he asked.

"…No. I'm upset. I've… never felt this upset. I thought we were going to save the day like always – and I would make a joke that we saved the _night_ , because it's always night here. I thought we would go home… and nothing would change except for learning some new powers. …Not this."

"…" Crest turned to Arlon. "When I was born… I didn't know where I was or who I was. I just wanted to eat and have fun. I didn't want to be thought of as a 'Firstborn.' But I am… and I have a duty to the universe, don't I?"

"Fun and games are not a crime, Master Crest." Arlon spoke. "But you must remember… we all have duties we must abide by. We must never forget our duties. Or bad things will happen…"

"Bad things will happen…" Crest turned to Leanne. "…I don't know how to be a Firstborn. But… you said there were nine others. If I talked to them… maybe they could help me." Then to Diwata. "Will you help me, too, Dee-Dee?"

She raised the Spirit Ball and smiled. "Sure I will." She tossed the ball and caught Crest again. It beeped as it slowly rotated during its descent. The moment it touched the floor was when it _booped_. The moon-like ball shone with a brighter color, and it felt warm in Diwata's hand.

 **Diwata captured a _FIRSTBORN_! NOW there should be 5 left! …Right?**

"Children…" Arlon spoke. "In light of the circumstances… on behalf of Lunaria, I would like to thank you. Our planet was saved from a terrible fate. I would be pleased to reward you."

"Thanks, but… I don't know if I want anything." Wendy replied.

"Yeah, I'm not even up for a victory party." Denny said. "Sigh… Cheren is gonna fall apart."

"We might as well get back to Earth ASAP." Lulu said. "Give them the bad news."

"Do take good care of Crest." Arlon said. "You know how precious a Firstborn is… But perhaps it would be best if he interact with his own kind."

"We will." Dee smiled. "Hopefully, things aren't TOO bad on Earth right now."

Wendy and Vaati returned outside and gazed at the sky. "In truth… another reason I came to Lunaria was to dispel the protection around it." Vaati said. "I wanted it to be free for the universe to see."

"Dad… I really don't think this 'freedom' route is… the right way."

"…" His eye glanced at her. "I will return to Earth and meet with you again. Only half a month is left until the Apocalypse. I suspect the chaos will only grow and the battles more arduous. Make sure you're ready, Wendy." And he flew away.

* * *

 **I got the Night Palace from _Sonic and the Secret Rings_ , and Acnologia is from _Fairy Tail_. Enjoy a Caesar Cipher.**

 **…**

 ** _KLV ZHDNQHVV LV LQVLGH_**


	29. Freedom

**Ladies and germs, we are beginning the final arc of the Side Stories: Noah's Arc. It will be fairly long as the Side Stories will end around Chapter B-40, during which we will cover up the three character stories. This also comes after Chapter 61, right after that one ends.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-29: Freedom_**

 **Pueblo de Niebla**

Let's recap for a second: following their parley with Captain Slag, the Marzipan Pirates flew to Pueblo de Niebla to ask Luviro about the sixth Lost Candy. They flew by Team Sandman's aircraft, and before confronting the sick child, the crew decided to bare witness to the exciting conflict that took place in the village. A group of kids whom the pirates were pretty sure were Kids Next Door operatives fought a band of dark creatures. One of these kids grew exponentially gigantic and seemed to have no clue on his surroundings. Before he could cause too much damage, Stewie blasted this boy with his Metahuman Neutralizer. This seemed to work as the boy shrunk back to a normal size.

When Augustus was finally ready to see Luviro again, he led his crew up the path to his house. He cocked a brow: there was a skeleton boy in black clothes and a Western hat. "Well, you aren't something I see every day." Augustus said to the undead boy.

The skeleton looked up. He had glowing red eyes in his sockets. "Neither are you. What're you doing here?"

"Here to see Luviro." Augustus walked toward the house with his crew following.

Django was confused. "How do you know Luviro?"

"I met him a few months ago." The captain entered the old house.

Django gaped, pondering the teen's words. "Luviro's… alive? …" Feeling too curious, he joined the crew in the house.

The home was as fallen apart and poorly managed as either Django or Augustus had last seen. They all approached the bed by the dead fireplace. The lump that belonged to its occupant was still there. Django only watched as Augustus put his hand on the lump. "Luviro… are you awake?"

Django gasped upon hearing the faint, agonizing moan. _"Au…gus…tus…"_

"LUVIRO!" Django was quick to climb on the bed. The pale, dying face of his old friend opened his yellowish eyes. "Luviro… is that really you?"

Luviro coughed. "Dj…Django… You look… horrible…" He cracked a faint smile.

"…Hm." Django smirked. "Compared to you, I'm a sight. But… this isn't possible. You shouldn't even be alive… let alone look the same as you did 30 years ago!"

"Thirty years ago?!" Stewie asked baffled.

"Mw-mw?!" Maggie shared his confusion.

"You three are one to talk." Augustus noted. "Luviro, look! We have four of the Lost Candies!" He took the Infi-Cube and released the Rock Nut, Cupcake Core, Gear Heart, and Sun Key on his bed.

Luviro gazed at the treasures and made a faint hiss that sounded like a long gasp. "Los Caramelos Perdidos… You really found them for me?"

"I did!" Augustus said happily. "Just like I said I would! And I'm about to find the other ones, too! But I need to know where the sixth one is. Can you tell me?"

He coughed. "Augustus… I've never been more happy… I'm so thankful that you… are finding them. …I have a secret to tell you. Uncover my head, Augustus… Please."

Augustus viewed the blanket that covered his head. It seemed awfully thick for what he assumed was little space underneath. But he felt something hard underneath when he grabbed the blanket. Augustus pulled it off… He, Django, and the babies gaped.

Luviro had graying black hair and pale orange horns. The twin horns curved into swirls like a lizard's tail. "My name is… Luviro Lizaro. I am from a world called Alternia. Augustus… do you know about the Apocalypse that will happen at the end of this month?"

"The Apocalypse…" Augustus was still trying to process this strange appearance, so this new knowledge didn't reach him right away. "No…"

"The Apocalypse will destroy everything… He will destroy everything… But there is a way to save everyone. When the Lost Candies are brought together… they will create the ship to the New World… and it will sail for three years… I was sent to this universe thousands of years ago… to help the Sugar Fairies hide the Lost Candies…"

"Thousands of years…" Augustus whispered to himself, trying to process it all. "So… the Lost Candies create a ship?"

"Sí… It is the most powerful ship in the entire multiverse… created by Termina's Giants. If it isn't complete… nobody will survive… The universe is doomed… Augustus, please… You need to complete the ship. Save… everybody…"

"But none of this makes sense! An Apocalypse is gonna destroy the universe, who else knew about this?!"

"The Kids Next Door." Django answered. "What? You seriously weren't aware of this Seven Lights Quest that's been happening all month?! Hwow, you need to catch up!"

"Luviro, if all this is true, why couldn't you have told me earlier? I would've spent more time looking for them!"

"I had to be sure I could trust you… If you were really willing to find the Lost Candies… then I could. Augustus… I have Universe Cancer… My body absorbed too much of the energy from my peoples' Transportifier… and after I landed in this universe, my lifespan became bound to it… I can feel it… It's going to happen soon… cough. Augustus… please find the last candies… please… cough!"

"But where is it? Where's the sixth candy?"

"The final candy… we hid under an island… that looks like a squished gumdrop."

"Gumdrop Cove!" Stewie said with realization.

"Augustus… I'm sorry I lied to you before…" Luviro spoke hoarsely. "I'm sorry that I… gave you this difficult mission… But I loved this universe… I loved every moment I spent here… It's so much nicer than Alternia… I just wish… it didn't have to go… cough. Augustus… go find the last candy, quickly… I may not get to see you again… so I want you to know… I'm really grateful… you came to see me…" He fell asleep.

"Luviro…" Augustus put a hand on his head. Django felt for Luviro's heart, but his boney hand had no feeling.

"Luviro… why…" Django would be crying tears if he could. "Why didn't you tell me… I would've done it for you! I was DEAD for 30 years, I had nothing else to do! LUVIRO!"

"Calm down, he's still breathing!" Augustus yelled. "He isn't dead, yet. Still… is his lifespan really bound to this universe? And the Apocalypse… could that be what the fairies were talking about?"

 _"Augustus, do you know what's going to happen at the end of this month?" Zeira asked._

 _"This month? At the end of this month, Luviro's gonna die. He's terminally ill, and he wants to see the Lost Candies before it happens."_

 _"…I see…" Zeira was clearly suspicious of his reason, though Augustus couldn't imagine why._

"She did know…" Augustus thought back to that conversation. "She knew all along… Kids, we have to go. We need to search Gumdrop Cove for the Lost Candy." He recollected the four candies and began to walk out. "What are you gonna do, Skeleton?"

Django glanced at them, still kneeled on Luviro's bed. "I'm gonna stay here… I promised Luviro I would be with him when he died… I thought I missed my chance, but now… I can keep my promise."

"…" Augustus took out a lollipop and tossed it to Django. "If he wakes up, give that to him."

Django stared at the green candy, hearing the footsteps of the crew fade out of the house. "I doubt either of us could taste it now…" Django chuckled.

"Augustus, are we going to tell Captain Slag about Gumdrop?" Stewie asked on their way to the _Ace Flyer_.

"Not yet. I wanna get my hands on it before Slag or Licorice have a chance to find out. If Licorice knew where it was, his boys would've been swarming Gumdrop already. We have a shot."

"But he didn't even tell us what the candy looked like!" Rallo shouted.

"Yes he did, Rallo. The Lost Candies are parts to a ship. We have four of the parts, the fairies have the fuel… so all that leaves is the ship itself."

 **KND Moonbase**

Sector RZ parted ways with Wendy and her group once they left Lunaria's atmosphere. The team of four returned to a shabby-looking Moonbase, parking their C.O.O.L.-B.U.S. in the hangar. Lulu, Denny, and Diwata headed for the Supreme Leader's office while Lee remained with his sister, who was lain on one of the bus's seats.

When Dillon saw the team come onto the bridge, he gestured Carol to follow as he jogged up to them. "Sector RZ! Where've you… Is that Diwata?" he questioned the blue-skinned girl with round white eyes.

"Yes, it's me." Dee confirmed. "Before we start explaining, let's get Cheren."

They knocked on the leader's door before entering the office. Cheren looked up with a quizzical expression. "Lulu, Denny? And…"

"Diwata." She rolled her eyes. "Cheren, we gotta show you something."

They led Cheren, Dillon, and Carol back down to the hangar and entered the C.O.O.L.-B.U.S.. Lee stepped aside to give them a look at his sister… The three gasped at the sight of the hole in Leanne's chest. They nearly died of shock. "Wh…What the hell happened?!" Cheren choked out.

"Leanne's dead." Lee said solemnly. "It happened on a mission to Lunaria."

"Lunaria?! I didn't give you any mission!"

"We sorta got it on our own." Lulu replied. "To sum it up…"

The next few minutes were spent recapping the adventure. Dillon couldn't bring himself to ask questions… Leanne was a close friend. He comforted her when her prank against Francis backfired, they played videogames together… Dillon wasn't particularly in love with her, but a recent conversation suggested differently about her.

 _"So Dillon, I notice you've been spending an awful lot of time with Carol."_

 _"Well, she is tryin' out to be a new member of the team. I'm just helping her out."_

 _"Ah. It's only fair, I guess, with Vanellope gone… no offense."_

 _"What does that mean?"_

 _"Come on, Dillon, you're totally hitting it up with that rich girl. And she knows computers now just like Vanellope!"_

 _"That doesn't mean I LIKE her!" Dillon flushed. "And I wasn't in love with Vanellope either, she was my sister!"_

 _" Adopted sister."_

 _"It's still gross!"_

 _"Fine, but I'm still gonna tell you that money doesn't buy happiness."_

 _"I KNOW that! Besides, Carol's in love with Mason. I don't wanna steal her because I couldn't tease Mason then."_

 _"Well, Mason still has Sheila, so you and her still have a shot, I guess." Leanne shrugged._

 _"Yeah, you're probably right… I MEAN, NO YOU'RE NOT!"_

"Dillon, are you okay?" Carol asked comfortingly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Dillon glanced at her and sported a light smile. "For a while, I sort of had the feeling… Leanne had a crush on me. I don't know if she did or… she was just poking fun. …I guess I'll never find out now."

"Sigh… We better go tell Mom and Dad so we can start preparing the funeral." Lee said.

"We don't have time for another funeral." Cheren replied.

"WHAT?!" Lee whipped at him, and Damien bared fangs and hissed, sharing his master's anger. "We had a funeral for your dad, but you don't wanna have one for my SISTER?! I thought you were a nice guy that tried to be too nice, but you're really a selfish PRICK, aren't you?!"

"The Apocalypse is 15 days away!" Cheren yelled. "I'm as upset as you are and I wanna have a funeral, but we don't have time! We need to focus our energy on finding the Lights and saving the universe! If all of us are dead, there'll be no one to mourn her! But if we're successful… then we'll give her a funeral."

"…Hmph. I wonder if you would say that if Anthony died, or Aurora, or just about anyone from a higher-up sector."

"Calm down, Lee." Lulu appeased.

"Uh-uh. I don't get why Cheren is allowed to have a bedridden 'my life is over' moment and I shouldn't."

"I'm not berating you for being upset," Cheren argued, "I just want you to be sure you don't lose sight of the mission at hand."

"Oh, well sorry for not trying to find the Seven Lights that we don't know who they are. Sorry that no one in my sector fell asleep and received a destiny dream, EXCEPT maybe Diwata, because she's a flippin' Firstborn Guardian now! And NO ONE stopped Dillon or Melody from going to get THEIR Firstborn! In fact, if you didn't make that deal with Grim, she could just come back to life right now!"

"But if she did come back, it would kind of ruin the meaning behind Diwata's awakening." Denny reasoned. He was met with Lee's angry stare, plus silent stares from the others. "…Or something."

"Sigh… Lee, I'm really sorry about Leanne, and I'll even bump you guys higher than Sector L if you want." Cheren consoled. "But I just don't think another funeral is necessary. Anyway, since Leanne died on a mission, we'll put her in an official KND casket and keep her in the infirmary, but first you can take her down to show your parents. …We should also probably cover up her wound… _it's hard to look at."_

"Do whatever you want." Lee sat in the seat opposite of Leanne's. "I don't care anymore."

"…Okay, I'll leave you be." Cheren left.

Midna rose out of Dillon's shadow. "As saddened as I am about losing a fellow shadowbender, is no one going to ask about this accredited TENTH Firstborn?"

"Oh, sorry." Diwata pulled out her Spirit Ball. "Midna, meet Crest." She popped it open and released the indigo crescent-head. "Crest, meet Midna, your fellow Firstborn."

"HOLY FLAP, YOU'RE PRETTY!" Crest shouted at Midna with wide eyes. His chest moon shaped like a heart.

"GYUH!" Midna flinched, and red filled up her dark cheeks.

"You're so beautiful!" Crest got up in her face. "I don't wanna be that guy with cheap pickup lines, but I think I found the missing piece of my moon."

"Uhhh… byebye!" Midna zipped into Dillon's shadow.

 **Climbers Household**

"Thank you for preparing this dinner, Mrs. Climber." Wendy said with a kind smile as she and the twins ate steamed carrots with mashed potatoes and melted cheese. "Um, that is your surname, right?"

"Ah, you don't have to worry about that." Nana smiled. "Just enjoy the meal! Traveling to the moon and back has to make a kid hungry."

"I wonder when my dad plans to meet me again." Wendy said to herself. "Or where."

"Wendy, I don't believe you should interact with that man, anymore." Carla stated.

"What? But Carla, he's my dad. You know how long I waited to meet him."

"I know that, Child, but there is something… off about him. Something that makes my fur tingle. Even _you_ were detested when he attempted to-"

"I know." Wendy didn't want to hear the end of that sentence. "I agree… there's a few things that are… wrong with him. But he's still my father. I want to spend more time with him…"

 _Knock knock knock_ , came a sound from the wooden door. Popo went up to answer it, only to find nothing but snow under the night. The Eskimo peeked outside, wondering what fool would journey all the way up this mountain just for a ding-dong ditch. There was a sudden gust of wind that blew snow around, forcing Popo to slam the door.

Wendy and Carla exchanged a knowing look. "Well, um… I'm going to go for a walk. May I be excused?" Wendy asked.

"I call dibs!" Donna swiped her food.

"At least put on a coat, Child." Carla said.

Wendy donned a purple coat with thick black pants, purple boots, a white scarf, and purple mittens. She stepped out into the night cold, covering her mouth and nose to protect them from the chilly breeze. She looked up a hill and saw a floating shadow against the indigo sky. Wendy trudged up the snow and would soon discover the shadow was her father. Vaati was floating cross-legged a few inches above a floating carpet.

"Father…"

"Wendy." The Man With the Red Eye smiled, finding her outfit and posture adorable. "It's very chilly tonight."

"It sure is." Wendy uncovered her mouth to speak. "My nose always gets drippy."

"…I… hope you're not still angry at me for my actions."

"Um… I don't want to be… It just concerns me. I don't like fighting or violence… but when there is, I don't wanna see… death. Father… how often do you kill people?"

Vaati closed his eye. "More often than I'd like to admit." He reopened it. "I cringe at the sight of death, too, Wendy. I believe all beings deserve a freedom to live. And yet… there is a freedom in death as well. Beings become spirits, their souls no longer tethered by the weight of the world. When there are evil people who enjoy taking freedom, do not see the beauty in freedom, the only solace is death."

"Dad… I don't know if I like this freedom philosophy. I know that everyone deserves free will, and bad people have to be stopped… but I…I just don't know."

"The fault is mine on that. As you said, while my goal was to teach you freedom by abandoning you, let you be free to run around the world, I made you feel as though you were nothing. You were not able to look at the world as I have, Wendy. So I invite you to come see it with me."

"R…Really?" She stared at the carpet.

"This is a magic carpet I purchased from a town called Magnostadt. I never had a need to use it, since I can already fly." He blushed. "In fact, I used to have a black sky bison, but… he was a little too violent even for me. So, will you come?"

"Uh… Of course." Wendy smiled and climbed on the carpet. "Is this gonna be like _Aladdin_?"

"The very same." Vaati chuckled.

"Whole new world, same old song." Wendy beamed.

"Ha ha ha! However, I would like it if you take off your coat. It's so hard to embrace the air with such heavy clothing. Toss them in here." He held his hat out.

"Um… Okay, Father." After removing her coat, pants, and boots, Wendy was left with her emerald dress.

"You should take off those nasty chi-blocks, too."

"You mean my Stabilizers?"

"Yes. Do not fear your wind curse. We shall be constantly flying."

"If you say so…" Wendy reached under her dress to pull off the stickers on her waist. The wind began to build up as snow blew.

"There… Now just enjoy the breeze." (Play "Whole New World" (instrumental) from _Aladdin_!)

Vaati took off into the sky and the magic carpet followed. Wendy lay on her front and gripped the edge of the fabric, peering over to see the mountains shrink away from her vision. Soon, they were soaring over the clouds and over the endless sea. The view was already so majestic, and Wendy enjoyed the feeling of freedom in her soul. Her father flew around the carpet, performing barrel-rolls and gliding upside-down, smiling as he embraced the breeze. His one eye opened to stare at his daughter. Wendy smiled. "Are you going to sing, Dad?"

Vaati blushed. "Well, uh, I always considered 'Whole New World' more of a romantic song."

Wendy flushed. "Oh – right – how silly of me, that would just be weird!"

"Oh, no harm done." Vaati patted her cheek. "I remember when I brought your mother on a similar adventure."

"Will you take me to meet Mom?"

"Soon, Wendy."

Miles away from Iceland, they soared over the Mountain of Flavors, snowing with vanilla ice cream. They floated calmly between the mountains, mouths open as they caught snow on their tongues. "I can't believe ice cream actually falls from the sky. And this is natural?"

"You use magic and have been to many amazing lands, yet you question the existence of an ice cream mountain?"

"I just can't believe it's so delicious!"

"Save your appetite, Dear."

They flew through the Amazon rainforest during a gentle shower, and Wendy let her soaking blue hair hang over the carpet, creating a small waterfall. She smiled when a string of fireflies flew around her, glinting in her red eyes. She rolled on her front to watch them fly off. She then realized: "Dad, won't this rain hurt the carpet?"

"I cast a dryness spell on it just in case." Vaati assured.

"Oh! Hm hm, way to think ahead, Dad!"

Their adventure brought them to a sea of fluffy clouds. Wendy felt herself growing weary, her head lain on her crossed arms. The carpet began to feel like a bed, flying through an imaginary world. The clouds looked like sheep that Wendy counted. _One, two, three, four…_

"Are you getting bored, Child?" Vaati asked.

"Hm?" Her eyes cracked open. "Sorry… Clouds make me sleepy. And I keep forgetting I'm awake… Whenever I'm running around on my own, I'm always trying to focus on the path and avoid obstacles… I could never look around very much."

"It must feel good to rest your legs. It's a wonder you're so trim with all the exercise you've been garnering. Don't fall asleep yet, though. Or you will miss my most favorite of worlds."

Past the fluffy clouds, Wendy gazed in awe as they soared through a city placed atop the clouds. The people were angels, and there were giant colorful birds. "Dr. Facilier told me about this place… This is Skypia."

"The home of the Nimbi and the home of airbending. Embrace in it, Wendy. Relish. Because aside from the Minish culture, this is our heritage. The Land of Air."

"Father… can I lay down on a cloud?"

"Of course you can, Wendy. Of course…"

They found a lone, small cloud that was solid enough for Wendy to lay on. She found herself unable to find a comfortable position, because the cloud was just too fluffy, she wanted to hug it and cuddle it, rub her feet around it, let every part of her feel the wonder. This was greater than any dream. She was so glad to be with her father, have so many friends, and get to live in a marvelous world… She wanted to be grateful about everything.

"Dad… I never thought I could be this happy… I've been upset and afraid all my life… I can't believe this is real…"

"It is like the Air Nomads used to preach… If you look for the light, you will find it. But if you look for the dark, that is all you will ever see. You must allow yourself to know happiness… If you can believe it is real, then it will become real. That's what being an airbender, and even having magic is truly about."

Wendy opened her eyes and sat upright, facing her father. "Dad… Is everything really going to be destroyed at the end of this month? If we can do anything we believe… then could we stop it if we wanted to?"

"The only way is to find the Twenty Keys and venture to the New World, as I have said. I will miss this world deeply… but the next world will be one of our design. We will make it our ideal world… No boundaries, no conflict, no evil… Just freedom. But the World Government does not desire such a world. That is why we must fight them first. Will you join my team and fight the Government with me, Wendy? Join the White Lotus Revolutionaries?"

"The Revolutionaries… Will I be able to visit Dr. Facilier and Lee?"

"Of course, Dear. You will be able to visit whomever."

"…Will there be a lot of fighting?"

Vaati frowned, feeling her concern. "Whether you choose to join me or not… you will have to face battles greater than you can imagine. Those battles are not far off. I can ensure that you are ready. You just have to trust me." He held his right hand out.

Wendy stared at it for a moment. Vaati's hand was more pale than his white face, with long fingernails. Her father wasn't much for personal hygiene, it seemed. But if he was right… Wendy wanted to be ready. She didn't want to lose any more friends like Juniper, Chelia, or Leanne. She wanted to have the strength to protect them. She stood and took her father's hand. "I will, Father. I'll do whatever you think is best." (End song.)

 **Gravity Falls; Portal Chamber**

The Multiverse Portal was firing up, ready to transport its user to a set time and place. The arrow aimed at a symbol of a skull-and-crossbones with a straw hat. The one chosen to carry out the mission allowed the portal to suck her inside. "And so, another Negative is off to fulfill her duty." Medusa said lazily, focused on her card game with her acquaintance. "Are you sure that was the right one, Teach? She really didn't seem… all that up to it. Her Positive better fits the description."

"Oh, she was the one all right." Teach smirked, munching his cherry pie. "She might not have the lovable personality I do, but there's one thing me and her have in common: our devilish streak!"

 **Baltigo, Grand Line; 30 years ago**

On her way through the Sea of Worlds, there were bubbles depicting a man with a crescent white mustache, a guy with a long nose, a curly-brow blonde man, and a blue-haired woman with a ponytail. In a final explosion of light, the portal released her in the Original World labeled "Grand Line."

And when the ray vanished, she was revealed to be Aliehs Citnarf. As Sheila Frantic's Negative, her brown skin was grayish, and went with her gray shirt, black shorts, and gray sandals. Her raccoon ears and tail were dull, as was her expression. She detested the sunny landscape, lighting up the desert of whitish-brown soil, which blew in the wind. There were tall and rugged peaks several miles behind her. Aliehs also saw the shadow of a village through the sandy wind.

Aliehs approached the village to find it was composed of old houses, with doors opening and shutting against their hinges due to the wind. "This place is boring." Aliehs said.

Her ears perked when she heard a sound come from a house. She entered the house and saw a rotund creature digging through a pantry. The creature had white pants and a black jacket that showed his belly area. It must've been a human. "Aha!" The boy plucked himself out of the pantry, holding a cherry up in victory. "Look what I found!" He ate it. The boy had black hair and a tooth missing.

"Are you a werepig?" Aliehs asked.

"WAAAH!" The fat boy fell on his back and tilted to and fro on his blubbery body before getting back on his feet. He turned to Aliehs. "Hey, who're you?! I thought there was no one left in this dump!"

"I'm Aliehs. You live here or something? I suddenly see more in my own life."

"I don't live here! This is an old village, I'm from the one down in the canyon. You know, Gorgetown. Just looking for a bite is all. The name's Teach."

"If a centuries-old cherry doesn't give you diarrhea, I don't believe you're human."

"You're one to talk. What's up with those ears, are you a Mink?"

"Sure. If you want me to be."

"Whatever. So where'd you come from?" Teach asked as he began to leave the house.

"Far away." Aliehs answered, following him.

"How far? Across the desert, across the sea?"

"I crossed a sea to get here. Sounds logical."

"Well, if you are a Mink, you're a gutsy one. It's the Grand Line, unless you're on a Marine ship, you ain't gonna last."

"What about an Eniram ship?"

"The hell is an Eniram?"

"Never mind. You have anything fun to do around here?"

"Nothing but hunt for treasures and steal food. What do you do for fun?"

"Tie this firecracker to my back and light it up." Aliehs was suddenly holding a blue firework with a red tip, nearly as long as her body.

"WHERE ON YOUR PERSON DID YOU HIDE THAT?!" Teach screamed.

"Infi-Cube." Aliehs took the small cube out of her pocket. "Infinite space for infinite things. I think you're too big for it, though."

"What the hell do you know?!" he yelled offended.

"Hey, what's up in those mountains?" Aliehs pointed to the towering rugged peaks. "Think there's a pyramid up there?"

"Why in the world would you think THAT? ?"

"I dunno, I came here looking for a pyramid."

"Then you should've gone to Alabasta! Besides, that mountain is way too dangerous to climb. Even if I wanted to see what's up there, my body, eh…" He looked down at his belly. "It's not in shape."

"I can probably fly us up there." Aliehs strapped the firework to her back and drew a match. "I'll push you from behind and you tell me where to steer."

"WHO SAID I AGREED TO THIS?!"

"Don't knock it 'til you try it." Aliehs lit the fuse on the firework and rocketed to the sky. She did a U-turn and dove back at the ground, quickly curving 90 degrees and shooting straight at Teach. The rotund boy bolted the opposite direction, but at such an inferior speed, he was inevitably bound to the front of the missile and used as a flabby windshield. "Where's the mountain?"

"TURN RIGHT!" Teach panicked. "Nonono slightly left! Er- one inch right, we're gonna hit a—FALLING BOULDERS!" They were whipping through the mountain range, and with Teach's instruction, Aliehs quickly ducked "LEFT RIGHT DOWN UP DOWN DOWN RIGHT LEFT RIGHT DIAGONAL!"

With Aliehs' vision aimed down the whole time, the half-raccoon spotted a flat ground at the top of a thin mount. "We should land before we explode." Aliehs whipped up, performed a loop, and blasted toward the foothold Teach-first. She spun quickly in order to shake him off, dropping him safely and dodging left just in time. She flew up, detached herself from the rocket, and landed with him, watching the firework explode in the sky.

"THAT WAS INSANE! !" Teach bellowed after recomposing himself. "Are you TRYING to kill yourself?!"

"I used to be suicidal. Until I found a thrill with dodging death."

"I take that to mean you SWAM to this island boatless?"

"No, I surfed. I don't swim."

"Great, we have something in common! Go kill yourself by yourself, I'm climbing down—AAAAAH!" When Teach looked over the edge of their very steep mount, he shortly realized how impeccably and precariously high they were.

"I was going to suggest this way." Aliehs indicated a rickety bridge that crossed to a path up the side of a mountain. "But don't let me discourage your need for danger."

"I don't have a need for danger! But I have a craving for cherries like you wouldn't believe."

"Then maybe you should stick with me. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." Aliehs walked across the rickety bridge with no speck of fear. Teach sighed, cursing the devil that sent this monster to his island. (Play "Rockface Rumble" from _Donkey Kong Country 3_!)

 _Stage B-24: Baltigo Peak_

 _Mission: Find the Pyrameglyph._

Teach couldn't bring himself to cross the bridge, as it could easily snap under his weight. Aliehs decided to return and kick him across like an exercise ball. Teach pushed himself back up as he joined Aliehs up the mountain path—giant boulders bounced down the path, quaking the ground powerfully, so Teach clutched Aliehs' back in the hopes she knew where to step. Aliehs kicked the boy back and jumped forward before a boulder bounced in the spot where they were formerly standing. Teach scrambled to catch up to her, and the path ended at a tall flat rock perched on the ledge.

"Let me see…" Aliehs looked around the rock and studied the area behind it. "Yeah, this could work. Hold still." She got behind Teach, shoved him against the rock, and caused them to topple over the edge. The rock landed on a U-shaped slope, and Aliehs hopped to the end of it as they rode it like a sled. Teach's cries echoed across the mountains when the sled flew off the ramp and bounced across some jagged mountain tips. It landed on a path that winded down around a mountain before launching them up a ramp.

The sled was stabbed and perched atop the tip of a needle, rocking to and fro by their weight. There was a series of tilting platforms ahead, so Aliehs used her strong feet to kick Teach to each one. She had to quickly jump and use her propeller tail to float to the platforms and kick Teach to the next before he would roll off the current one. After the last tilting platform, Teach was kicked into an opening within a mountain. The only path to follow was a shaft ascending directly upward. A rope seemed to stretch up along the wall of the shaft and would set off dynamites latched to the ceiling.

"I take it you plan to kick me up here." Teach deduced. "At least whoever set those dynamites never set 'em off."

"I'll fix that." Aliehs lit the fuse with her match.

"I DIDN'T SUGGEST YOU SHOULD DO IT!"

"Too bad." Aliehs kicked Teach in the rear to propel him up the shaft. She used the close walls to Wall Jump up, kick him again, and repeat as they steadily progressed. At the top of the shaft, Teach was kicked onto a ledge outside. Aliehs kicked him down a stairway of aligned flat-top needles, running after the organic stage device before the dynamites exploded behind her.

"Huff…huff…" Teach groggily pushed himself up again, feeling the need to hurl. "Why did you even come to this island, anyway? Why are you dragging me on this adventure?"

"I'm trying to find a pyramid. The sooner we find it, the sooner I'll leave you alone."

"Who even told you there's a pyramid up here?"

"You did."

"Come again?"

"It's getting warmer… I think there's lava up ahead."

"Don't ignore me!"

The two cut through a narrow path within a mountain and arrived at a lava pit. Two rows of stalagmites led to a ground across the lava, so without changing the routine, Aliehs kicked Teach and bounced him between the stalagmites for him to make it across. Aliehs Wall Jumped the stalagmites to cross herself, helping the rolly boy up as they followed a path between a small trench. They came to a straight path that was scorching hot, with lava leaking up from its cracks. The other side was too far to kick Teach across.

"'Guess we'll have to use this." Aliehs shot a giant ice cube out of her Infi-Cube, setting it on the scorched path and kicking Teach on it belly-first. The ice began to melt, so Aliehs kicked and slid it partway across. She had to Wall Jump the close canyon walls and kick the ice further, using her tail to stay afloat long enough to do so. When the ice bumped against the end of the scorched path, Teach was flung onto the safe foothold. He and Aliehs followed a narrow path out of the enclosed canyon and back to open mountains. They were at the top of a thin, steep hill miles above ground.

"Hey, will you do me a favor and eat this?" Aliehs asked, holding a red mushroom with white spots to Teach.

"A mushroom? Well, I am pretty…" Teach took the fungus and was about to eat. "…What'll it do to me?"

"It's a way of showing that I commend you for your conveniently durable body."

"When has it been convenient? You could've climbed up here a lot easier if you didn't have me to kick around."

"Kicking you was the best part about climbing up here. It's a 'thank you' snack."

"Hmmm… Well, who am I to turn down free food?" Teach ate the large mushroom in two bites. _"HUUUULP!"_ He inflated to the roundness of a perfect sphere, save for his hands and feet.

"This is why plumber food is disgusting. Okay, time to serve your worth." Aliehs hopped on the Teach Ball and began rolling. (Play "Star Ball 2" from _Mario Galaxy_!)

The steep slope curved right and would lead them onto a wider slope with large boulders. Aliehs avoided the boulders and maneuvered left to roll into a large steam geyser. The geyser blew them up to a tunnel that cut through a mountain, and Aliehs dodged the flame spouts that would burn Teach's blubber. The tunnel dropped them on a flat tilting rock, and as gravity tried to weigh against them, Aliehs hurriedly rolled Teach up the opposite end of the rock. They rolled onto a corresponding tilt-rock and repeated the process for two more rocks until they could roll down a mountain path.

They arrived at a lava river with large flat rocks floating to the right. Teach rolled onto one of the rocks and remained steady under Aliehs' command. She rolled Teach onto a lone platform that was pushed up by a flame geyser every few seconds. They sat on the platform for a minute, wondering where to go from here. Then Aliehs noticed a crater that appeared to be corked by a trembling stone. When their platform was aloft, Aliehs rolled Teach off to smash the cork in. The lava buildup increased and they were blasted into the air, flying over several needle mounts before landing on a new hill.

Aliehs kept her balance as they rolled down with little control, maneuvering to cross the platforms over lava pits. They had a chance to rest at the bottom of the slope, but Aliehs wanted to keep the momentum flowing. She guided Teach over a very thin path above a lava pit, and the feeble stone supports were steadily cracking from the weight. Aliehs was able to get them across, rolling into a tunnel that sloped down and dropped them in a cave. Behind them was a cork in the wall, clogging some lava that urged to burst free. Aliehs rolled a good distance, came back with building momentum, and rammed Teach against the cork. She performed the act three times before the cork BURST, blowing them out of the cave and over the mountains, miles over the earth. (End song.)

When Teach's spherical exterior smashed against the ground, a strong BUUURP was forced from his lungs and he deflated back to his regular rotund form. As Aliehs was casually fixing her sandals, her expression dull as when they started, Teach stomped up to her in a rage. "I don't know who you are or where you came from, but YOU are OFFICIALLY, the CRAZIEST humanoid girl that has EVER set foot on this desert! My life flashed before my eyes, I came close to crapping myself, and YOU act like it was another day in the life!"

"It was."

"Well, you know what I have to say?!" His eyes widened with vigor, and he flexed his hands to express: "Best. Day. EVER! ZEEE HA HA HA!" He raised a fist and posed proudly. "I felt like I was rolling down from Heaven, to be reborn anew on Planet Earth! I still feel my blood churning! I want some more, I wanna do it again! Aliehs, let's race up the mountain and run down so fast, we become wind!"

"You have come so far, my student." Aliehs said with approval.

"ZE ha ha!" Teach waddled as he ran around the path. "I wonder if pirates do this? Always out on that dangerous sea, they gotta be…?"

His eyes fell on a stone pyramid with an eye on its tip. Just like Aliehs said… but what kind of pyramid was it? Teach approached the stone, and at first, the only letter he could read was the huge **_D_** on the bottom. And yet, when the letters glowed, the writing became clear.

 _The world is full of freedom and full of adventure. It lies stretched out before your eyes. If the endless dream guides your restless spirit, seize it! Let nothing stand in your way!_

The "D" on the stone filled with a dark aura that floated before Teach's eyes. The "D" flew into Teach's chest, and he felt his heart _THUMP_.

 **Marshall D. Teach awakened as a _DARKNESS_. Only 4 more to go.**

"Hmmm…" Teach wasn't sure what had happened, but his need for excitement grew stronger. He turned to Aliehs and asked, "So, what made you into such a crazy psycho? Somebody use you for a balance ball?"

"Not that in particular, but it was this girl." Aliehs took out a small photo of her Positive, Sheila. She was smiling and holding two fingers up.

"She looks a lot like you… She your sister?"

"Well, we were born on the same day."

There was a FLASH in the sky, and the earth trembled when a ray of light burned the ground behind Aliehs. "What the… Aliehs, behind you! !" Teach panicked.

"This is my ride home." Aliehs turned to walk into it. "See ya later, Teach. Oh, and when they offer you a part in _Pan_ , say no." The light sucked Aliehs to the sky, leaving a scorched spot where it shone.

Seconds after, Teach felt his stomach rumble. But to his good fortune, he noticed three large berries growing from a dead tree. The berries were black with red swirls. His face beaming, Teach punched the tree and caught the dropped berries. He took the first bite of the first berry. "Blech! How awful! …" He continued eating.

 **Portal Chamber**

"Boy, I was fat back then." Teach frowned. "But who would've thought I was talking to an interdimensional traveler. Destiny is a funny thing."

"It really is, Teach." Medusa played a card. "Still, I feel bad for the Negatives. None of them are Lights, none of them are Darknesses, none of them are Firstborn Guardians. They're just pawns doing my dirty work. What a pitiful bunch."

"I can hear you loud and clear." Nerehc said from the darkness. "And I don't like you talking about my operatives that way."

"Loosen up, boy. Even you have to see that you're the only Negative worth anything. The new Demon King Nerehc."

"Then why don't you send _me_ to find the Darknesses?"

"Because these Negatives possess a certain charm that… relates to them better. Thanos likes bickering siblings, Yellow Diamond's a fan of rocks… and Teach, deep down, is a danger seeker."

"But if Teach is here right now, where are the other Darknesses?"

"They're on the lowest floor of Underworld Prison. I broke in there last year and tried to rescue them, but Teach was all I could recover. Rest assured, I have a plan."

The Multiverse Portal spat Aliehs out before returning to its normal neon colors. "Well, look who's back." Blackbeard approached the half-raccoon and patted her head. "To think just seconds ago, I was a fatty little brat. Amazing how much a man grows, huh? Ze ha ha ha!"

"You look less grown up than before." Aliehs said.

"Ahh, say whatever you want. I'm just glad I was picked to be the Darkness instead of Kaido."

"Based on your stories, Teach, I say any one from that world could've been a Darkness." Medusa said. "Anyhoo, I believe we're done here, time to pack up. You might want to let those kids go." Medusa formed a Dark Portal and entered. Blackbeard used his Logia darknessbending to spit Sector GF out of his body, afterwards sucking the card table in. He followed Medusa as the portal vanished.

"Oh my gosh, what just happened?!" Dipper panicked. The color was sapped from the four operatives' faces. "W-W-We were trapped in a black hole that smelled like rotting cherries!"

"I guess it's true." Mabel rocked back and forth, hugging her legs. "Anime characters really do have endless bowels."

 _"Never-To-Be-As-Good-As-Master Nerehc, regarding your accord with Goddess Medusa, I suspect a 91% chance of treachery on her end."_ Fi said.

"REALLY, Fi?" Nerehc's eyes widened into a fake look of realization. "That DIDN'T occur to me!"

 _"Please take heed that any misfortune that should befall you may have drastic consequences for Master Cheren."_

"I might be your master's Negative, but I won't let her get the best of me. I'll fight to protect my operatives no matter what. And as long as Cheren does the same, I have nothing to worry about."

 **Pokémon Palace**

Giovanni returned to his private quarters, feeling anger and humiliation. He sat at his desk and linked the security camera feed with his computer. He viewed a cell in the dungeons… completely empty with a pair of cuffs on the floor, and a note. Giovanni zoomed the camera in on the note.

 _Got bored. Felt like leaving. Better luck catching me next time! –M.C._

Giovanni was too exhausted to feel more irritated. His Persian meowed and gestured at the ovular mirror, which wobbled like liquid. Giovanni viewed the unchanging scowl of his reflection as he and Persian entered the mirror.

Now he was in the dark basement where Team Gnik held their meetings. There was a table with a Krabby Patty, Fourth Flavor ice cream, and a hot bowl of Gold Ink Soup. Giovanni sat in the available chair and ate the Krabby Patty first. _"Plankton has outstanding culinary skill."_ The dull, mysterious voice spoke. Team Gnik's leader was in the darkness across the room.

Giovanni swallowed. "Lesser Lord Gnik. Are you going to punish me for my failure?"

 _"Trying to control a monster like Acnologia was bound for failure. There is a reason he was the first vessel my master chose. The ancestor of the Pines Family… Acnologia."_ He stepped forward into the light.

Giovanni nearly choked on his patty. "Is that really your face? How…How do you live that way?"

 _"I am not to leave this home until the appointed day…"_ Ragaj said as the camera faced his chest to troll the readers. _"It is why I had to gather minions to serve my master's cause. I promised to take them to the New World… yet, I did not sense that many of them would make it. Mr. Dark has already served his purpose… and XANA and Nefarious are about to serve theirs. However, you, Giovanni… I may require your services just a bit longer."_

He put a glass on the table and held up a bottle, pouring a blue liquid into it. He pushed the glass up to Giovanni. _"You will not be on par with the Thirteen Darknesses… but you will be a formidable force. You will get everything you wanted."_

"…" Giovanni reached for the glass.

 _"Oh, it's not for you. It is meant for the Persian."_

Giovanni quirked a brow. He picked up the glass and held it to his Pokémon. The Persian licked it up. "MROOOW!" A shocking sensation coursed through it.

"PERSIAN!"

 _"Wait."_ Ragaj raised a hand.

Persian rolled on the floor, his fur spiking and his forehead gem glowing. A red light burst from the gem and swallowed the feline. It shrunk back and revealed Mega Persian, with its shining large ruby gem, sharper fangs, long claws, and tiger stripes across its back. "It's a… Mega Evolution."

 _"A permanent Mega Evolution. Thanks to my specially ordered Perma-Mega Potion. I have vast quantities of it… I would grant them to you and more. With the power of your Dark Balls, I can give you an army of Mega Pokémon to use at your disposal. And if you remain by his side… the Firstborn will be yours."_

Giovanni smirked. "Well, I guess it's worth a try."

* * *

 **The funny thing is _Pokémon_ doesn't have a Mega Persian. XD Blackbeard comes from _One Piece_ , and I think we have the least information on his background compared to the other Darknesses, regarding his respective series. Him living in Baltigo is just a wild swing on my part, but I expect to be wrong. :P Also, lately I've been having this _Aladdin_ obsession, don't know why. A'ight, enjoy a Caesar Cipher.**

 **…**

 ** _BRXU GHVWLQB LV QR GLIIHUHQW, PHGXVD_**


	30. The World Without Law

**This is one of my favorite chapters in the Side Stories. I laughed while writing it. XD Well, not this first part, the first part's kinda depressing. (Also, if you aren't caught up with _Fairy Tail_ , beware of spoilers.)**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-30: The World Without Law_**

 **Alakitasia, Fiore Dimension; 410 years ago**

Nollid Kroy was sent through the Multiverse Portal and landed on a grass ground. "Yeesh… that was crazier than Apparating." he said. Nollid was in a forest, and the sky had a hint of yellow, implying that the sun was setting. He walked forward. "I wonder where the Darkness-" He stepped on a cliff and stopped before losing balance. A few grains of dirt fell off from his step, falling below the clouds. Nollid gasped, taking in the view before him. "Wow…" (Play "Floating Islands" from _Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon_.)

A light breeze whisked across the country of floating islands. At first, Nollid thought it was Skypia, but the islands were made of dirt and soil. Masses of land ripped from the earth and left to drift in the clouds. Nollid looked up toward the right, where the cliff sloped up and led to a thin strip of ground hanging over the abyss. A boy of seven years old stood on that strip, staring down at the passing clouds. He had smooth black hair and black clothes.

Nollid stepped up the hill and approached the kid from behind. "You should be careful. You might fall off."

The kid looked up and turned, staring with surprised black eyes, though his expression was dull. The stranger wore a black hoodie with black pants and shoes. Nollid had a purple strip through his black hair. The kid noticed the wand in Nollid's right hand. "Are you a wizard?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I am." Nollid answered, now confirmed that wizards do exist in this world.

"I've never seen you. Do you go to my school?"

"Er, no, I don't. I'm not from around here. My name's Nollid."

"Hi, Nollid. I'm Zeref."

 _Yep, this is the one I'm looking for._ "Nice to meet you, Zeref." Nollid smiled. "Can you tell me about this place? I didn't exactly read a travel guide, so…"

"This is Alakitasia. The Floating Land. I don't know very much about it… but I think a long time ago, some wizards made the land float to be closer to the gods."

"A country-wide Levitation Spell? That's pretty amazing!"

"Yah… but it's dangerous. Dragons fly up here. They kill people. They killed my parents and my little brother. …If you're magic, can you do something for me?" Zeref asked with hopeful eyes.

"What do you need?"

"Can you bring people back to life?"

Nollid hesitated to answer. "Um… not particularly. But I recently learned to use Inferio."

"What's Inferio?"

"It's a spell that can wake up corpses. The corpses are called Inferius."

"Inferius? Well… can you bring my brother back?"

"Why your brother? Why not him and your parents?"

"My parents were eaten by the dragons. We don't have their bodies. My brother is buried at the cemetery. Could you wake him up?"

"Wake up his corpse? Well, sure. But you know this is dark magic, right? I only practiced it because my mom made me. It feels creepy when I actually… do it."

"I just wanna see my brother again. Is that bad?"

"If it's that important to you, I guess I could… for a few minutes. Will you take me to him?"

"We have to go up there." Zeref pointed at an island a few feet off the edge, whose ground was higher than theirs. "Can you fly?"

"No, but we can make it. Watch a wizard at work." Nollid winked.

 _Stage B-25: Floating Lands_

 _Mission: Awaken Zeref's brother._

There was a tree with vines standing on the edge of the island. "Accio Vine." Nollid aimed his wand and called the end of a vine over. He put away the wand and told Zeref to hang on his shoulders. Nollid grabbed the vine and held tight as they swung under the bottom edge of the island. When the vine swung back and became straight, the wizard climbed it. Nollid and Zeref set foot on the island, which was composed of yellow brick ruins. Stone gargoyles were perched on pedestals and ruins, but these statues revealed to be alive as they swooped in to claw at the two. Nollid was quick to cast Reducto and explode the gargoyles, protecting himself and Zeref.

According to Zeref, the next destined island was several meters above. Nollid's Ascendio wouldn't get them that high, so he decided to use Wingardium Leviosa to uplift Zeref. The child felt odd floating like a feather, and feared falling from such an already unsettling altitude. Thankfully, Nollid kept his focus and set Zeref on the small island. "Is there anything up there?!" Nollid called up.

"There's a knocked-over pedestal!" Zeref yelled back.

"Push it down here, I can use it!" Nollid stepped back when the pedestal fell, using magic to slow its descent. Afterwards, Nollid stood on the stone and used magic to levitate himself up. He rejoined Zeref and used another Levitation Spell to float him to a longer island ten feet off. Zeref stepped on a stone switch that stretched a bridge for Nollid. The duo crossed the long island and were attacked by Clefts that were disguised as rocks. Nollid used Flipperoo to flip the Clefts upside-down and stomp their weak bottoms.

"No offense, Zeref, but your homeland is kinda dull." Nollid said honestly.

"This isn't my home. I'm from a town past the forest. I come out here to look at clouds."

"It sure seems like the cemetery is pretty out of the way."

"These are sacred grounds. No one comes out here because they're afraid of being cursed."

"Cursed? Doesn't that make you afraid?"

"No."

They jumped some small gaps in-between islands before climbing stairs to an ancient town. They cut through the center street and found a sealed gate that depicted four symbols in compass directions. The north depicted a swirl, east pointed at a snowflake, south aimed at a raindrop, and west at a flame. Nollid looked above the gate and noticed the dark orb. He cast Ventus up at the orb and watched it glow white. "We probably have to activate all the orbs to open this gate. I bet they're located in the compass directions."

He and Zeref followed a small road to the east side, but since the path was blocked by rubble, they entered a building. They couldn't go far due to the stone clutter, but Zeref was small enough to crawl through a tight space between the rubble. The boy jumped stacks of stone bricks that led to a window. Vines were growing on the outside of the window, allowing Zeref to climb to the ruin's roof. Zeref found a stone block slightly taller than himself and could push it over the edge of the roof, landing it on the center road. He called Nollid to come back outside, and using the block as a boost, Nollid could use Ascendio and make it onto the roof. The next-door building had an orb, and since this was east, Nollid cast Glacius as according to the gate's compass. The orb turned blue.

To the left of the sealed gate was a path leading to a broken part in the wall around the ruins. When Nollid peeked through it, he saw an orb hanging on the side of the wall. This was probably west, so Nollid cast Incendio to light it red like fire. Lastly, they needed to find the south orb. They returned to the beginning of town, searching the area around the entrance stairs. Zeref found a vine wall under the island's edge, so Nollid climbed down and found himself clinging across vines along the island's underside. They brought him to the fourth orb, which required the water spell, Aguamenti.

Nollid heard a rumbling and suspected the gate has opened. He regrouped with Zeref as they proceeded past the town, arriving at an ancient church. "This must be the old Church of Ankhseram." Zeref said.

"What's Ankhseram?"

"He's the God of Death. The people in my town worship him."

"Where I'm from, our God of Death is Thanatos."

"Your people have a different god? We probably shouldn't talk about it here."

"Heh heh, yeah." Nollid blushed. "I think I see a way over there." He and Zeref went to the right of the church, where Nollid used magic to stack three large rocks against the back wall. He levitated Zeref up to an opening high up in the wall, then Nollid stood on the stack to be high enough to Ascendio up to the opening. The next island had a tree with bees swarming around a hive. Nollid cast Avis to send a flock of birds to devour the bees, making it safe to cross over. But how to go about doing that? Nollid saw a plank connecting that island to the next, so he called "Accio Plank" to slide the plank over to connect it with their ledge.

"Nollid, where did you say you were from?" Zeref asked as they carefully crossed the long board.

"I'm from a town called Gohauq. It's pretty far away."

"Why did you come to Alakitasia?"

"Mostly to travel. So, are we almost at the graveyard?"

"Yeah, we just gotta get across. I wish they wouldn't put it so far away."

They made it to the island with the hive, and Nollid moved the plank again to cross to the following island. The next island required a short jump to cross, but it was upside-down as they viewed its rugged underside. Nollid cast Flipperoo to flip it up correctly. However, the land they had to reach was too far. "How do we get there now?" Zeref asked.

"I have an idea. But just so you'll be safe." Nollid used Leviosa to float Zeref over to the base of the cemetery. With a courageous breath, Nollid used Flipperoo on the small platform again, spinning it with himself on it and flinging himself across the gap with the momentum. Zeref gasped, fearing he wouldn't make it, but his worry for those two seconds were subsided when Nollid landed beside him. "Heh heh. Worry not, Zeref, I'm a pro at this."

"Great! Let's look for my brother's grave." Nollid followed Zeref as the latter read the names on the tombstones, which were written in foreign letters Nollid couldn't read. Speaking of foreign letters, Nollid looked across the cemetery and spotted a grave in front of a stone pyramid.

"Zeref, do you think it might be that one?" he pointed. Zeref looked to the strange pyramid near the edge of the island. He jogged up and read the name on the stone.

"You're right! This is his grave! Natsu…" (End song.)

Nollid came beside Zeref and held his wand ready. "Alright, here it goes. Inferio." Nollid cast the spell into the soil.

Zeref gasped when two small, boney arms sprouted from the ground. A child's zombie emerged, moaning. "Whoa… you did it." Zeref gaped. "Natsu… is it really you?"

"He can't talk." Nollid said. "He doesn't have a will or his own state of mind. Inferio reanimates a corpse, but it doesn't do anything besides act as a puppet."

Zeref waved a hand by Natsu's lifeless face. "Do you know a spell that… _can_ bring people back to life?"

"No, I don't. But my friend, Sipa told me about a stronger version of Inferio. It's called Grand Inferius. It's able to revive people to perfect fighting condition. I don't know how to use it, though."

Zeref caught Natsu when the corpse fell over. "If you can wake up a corpse… maybe _I_ can bring back the dead." Zeref spoke lowly. "If I learned magic… I wonder if I could…"

 _It looks like I just dug this kid's grave._ Nollid thought. _No pun intended. I guess it couldn't be avoided. Still…_ "Zeref, I already told you these were dark arts. I don't know what you're thinking, but… don't get in over your head."

"I know. …Hey, Nollid? How long does this spell last? Do you think Natsu could… stay awake forever?"

"I'm not sure. There's a chance the spell will wear off if I leave. But I guess… I'll leave it active just to see. I wouldn't let the town see him, though."

"I'll keep him secret." Zeref smiled at the older boy. His attention then fell to the pyramid behind the grave. Zeref approached the ancient stone, and Nollid knew what was to happen next. Zeref read the glowing text.

 _New growth cannot commence without destroying the old. If you wish to make change, only chaos is the answer._

A dark aura appeared around the pyramid, and the eye on the tip channeled it into Zeref's body.

 **Zeref awakened as a _DARKNESS_. Only 3 more to go.**

"…What was that, Nollid?"

"I honestly have no idea." Nollid answered. "Let's get you back to where I found you. It'll be dangerous crossing that path on your own."

Nollid led Zeref and Natsu across the floating islands and returned to the forest area where the former first landed. "If you don't have parents, do you have a home to go back to?"

"I live by myself." Zeref answered. "But… I guess I won't, anymore." He smiled at Natsu.

Nollid felt repulsed at the thought of this little boy living with a corpse. Whether Natsu died again or remained animated after he left, it was a creepy thought. He didn't have long to think about it when the ray of light burst from the higher heavens, burning the ground. "Good-bye, Zeref!" Nollid yelled, giving Zeref no time to comment on this. "And good luck to you." He jumped into the vacuum and was sucked back to his home dimension.

Zeref looked at Natsu when he moaned. Despite Nollid's sudden vanishing, his brother remained active. "Inferius…" Zeref would remember that term.

 **Portal Chamber**

"Zeref was a complicated fellow to work with back in those days." Medusa commented. "It will be good to have him back, though."

"Don't we have to do something about Zeref's little… predicament?" Thanatos asked.

"Don't worry, Thanny. In time, we shall enlist the help of the Firstborn."

"How many more times will we have to use this portal?" Nerehc asked.

"Only two more times." Medusa answered. "Say, Nerehc, when we send your friends to the Original Worlds, have you noticed that nothing actually happens to the Positives?"

"I… didn't think of it."

"The reason is simple. The Original Worlds do not abide by the same laws as this universe. Some of them may not have a Negaverse. It only proves how distant they are, and raises more questions on why these people were chosen to be Darknesses."

"Another thing that you don't understand?"

"Don't flatter yourself. But speaking of different laws, I fear for our next victim. The world he's diving into is called the World Without Law. It will be a miracle if he finds the Darkness and keeps his sanity…"

The arrow was marked on a symbol of a wig. Along the Dimensional Byway to this world, the bubbles displayed a man of blue jelly, an orange sun-like creature, a girl with pink hair, and a guy in a white sheet flashing up his skirt. It was probably the most dangerous of the Original Worlds.

 **Chrome Dome Empire; 150 years and 1,064,271 milliseconds ago**

In the year 150x, war waged between the Hair Kingdom and the Chrome Dome Empire. Chrome Dome was once a peaceful nation, content with their shiny domes. The country never had to buy combs, so they could save extra money to buy gas and fast food. Unfortunately, hats and sunscreen were scarce in this age, so thousands of the Chrome Dome residents acquired unbearable sunburns. Their domes were so scorching, their neighboring country Hair Kingdom crossed their borders and began to cook pancakes and bacon on their heads. The sad part was that they cooked faster than ordinary stoves.

"And that was why they went to war, right?" our lucky victim asked.

No, of course not. What really ticked them off was that they didn't use butter.

"Okay – that's it, time out, time out!" Hcaz Yhprum spoke up. "Why the hell did _I_ have to get picked to do this dumb world?! The stupidest person we got is Ylime, don't you think this place would make her feel smart?"

Oh, pardon me, Hcaz, but this isn't the Negaverse where you can just sing a pretty song and your dreams magically come true. In this world, you need 200 points of store credit, so ya better hop to it if you wanna finish the mission.

"I don't understand how anybody from this world could qualify as a Darkness! The last two towns I went to were all made up of tofu that judged each other based on the way they hold their pencils!"

PAH HAH HAH HAAAA! I can so relate to that! Don't worry, Hcaz, you're almost close to where you need to be. Luckily, fourth wall rules don't matter in this world, so I get to help you out. Anyway, back to the story. Our hero, Hcaz was strolling through a peaceful neighborhood with average cartoony houses and little kids with dotty eyes swinging swings on trees. He traveled this dark, nightmarish landscape in search of one of the Thirteen Darknesses: Tsuru Tsurulina III, or as he is known in America, Czar Baldy Bald III. (In 3-D!)

"So I'm guessing I'll stumble upon an innocent-looking child who couldn't possibly grow up to be a monster." Hcaz figured as he marched up a narrow zigzaggy hill above a perilous chasm. An eerie-looking house sat at the top. "That's how it was for everyone else."

And right Hcaz was. For when he stepped into the house, there sat a pedestal with… a tiny baby inside an embryo. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Hcaz shouted. "He was never even properly BORN!"

Indeed he wasn't. That's why it falls to you, Hcaz, to carry Tsuru on his journey of personal growth. You must undergo trials of unspeakable tribulation, and it will be trifling. But don't worry, just pat yourself on the back and have fun with it.

"Sigh…" Hcaz picked the unborn czar up in his hand. "So far, Thanos was the only Darkness that looked terrifying." (Play "Aban" from _Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo_!)

 _Stage B-26: World Without Law_

 _Mission: Go get 'em, tiger!_

Hcaz carried the embryo across a series of floating square platforms over a chasm. He jumped a platform that flipped slowly, a platform that rotated around a center, and one that went to and fro. One last stable platform would bring Hcaz to a cliff—the platform rapidly flipped when he set foot, throwing Hcaz to the ledge and speaking furiously, "NO! You know, I am TIRED of you Mario wannabes jumpin' around on us like we're a bunch of floating lifeless mounts for you to stand on! It's time for us platforms to speak our minds and YOU'RE gonna help us!"

Armies of platforms and non-platform supporters began to protest all videogame companies and characters for unfair treatment. Gamers grew angry at the fact they could no longer get past Level 1, and many were forced to hack their games to make an anti-gravity code. Protestors were arrested and forced to resume their platform duties in chains, but this didn't stop them from super-gluing their tops and getting Mario and Rayman stuck. Eventually, the designers gave in to the protests. Hcaz reasoned that the platforms would return to their duties, provided they get double pay, be allowed to attend after-parties, and could be chosen as playable characters.

So with that, Hcaz made it past the first obstacle of this stage. He came to a chasm with a target floating several meters over. With nothing else to chuck at the target, he was forced to throw Tsuru's embryo, hit it, and catch the unborn baby when it bounced back. "In Aliehs' level, you abused a fat kid to progress." Hcaz mentioned as he crossed the bridge that appeared. "Are we that low on level ideas?"

The bridge led Hcaz to a great red door built within a brick castle wall. There were three keys lain down, but only one keyhole. Take your pick, Hcaz. "Whatever." Hcaz got a key that looked like Jelly Jiggler. He stuck it in and tried to turn the lock, but failed, and when he pulled the key out, it shaped like a paperclip. He tried the Don Patch key next, but it was fruitless, except when Hcaz pulled it out and saw it became a banana. He then used the Bo-bobo key, but would pull it out to realize it was a lace handkerchief. "GRRRR! Nothing in this world makes SENSE!"

With that, Hcaz set off on a three-month long journey to the Himalayas to find the correct key. After buying hot cookies from a snow monster so he could hit the lottery, Hcaz located the key inside a cave: it was a doll of Abraham Lincoln. "Brilliant." Hcaz said with sarcasm. He stuck the hat side of Lincoln in the lock and opened the gates to the first important destination of the level. A prestigious institution that resembled a castle, he arrived at Beacon Academy. "WHAT?! ?" Hcaz screamed. "I thought this was _Bo-bobo_ , not _RWBY_!"

"Indeed it is, Mr. Yhprum." A portly man with a burgundy suit and big grey mustache marched up. "I am Professor Peter Port, and I'm here to encourage the growth of Young Czar Tsuru. And nothing helps a child grow than a ravishing story of his teacher's days of youth."

"I don't have time to hear a story!"

"YOU WILL LISTEN TO MY STORY AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!" Professor Port beat the snot out of Hcaz. "Very well, let's begin." He ceased and cleared his throat. "I was born with the biggest mustache in the hospital. My infant mustache was so enormous, I was put on the cover of _Children's Magazine_ five weeks in a row…"

 **64 hours later…**

"So in the end, we decided to throw the Hershey bar away." Port concluded. Hcaz was beyond bored at this time. "Well, that concludes my ravishing tales. Let's take a look at Tsuru's growth."

The embryo shone and turned white, floating in the air. Like a Pokémon during Evolution, it grew to a toddler's size. The light vanished, revealing five-year-old Tsuru with a bald head, blue T-shirt, and black pants. "For the next leg of your journey, you may ride Zwei." Professor Port showed them a little black and white puppy. "You are one step closer to becoming the third czar, Tsuru."

"I don't wanna be Czar!" Tsuru whined. "I wanna be a physician!"

"YOU'LL BE CZAR AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!" Port set the two on the puppy's back before taking out his blunderbuss and whacking it. The puppy shot across the sky like a comet, Hcaz and Tsuru holding for dear life. They crashed through a few UFOs and Cats in Hats, but eventually they crash-landed along a beach setting. Zwei scampered off to join the circus, leaving Hcaz and five-year-old Baldy to cross the beach of sexy teen girls.

"This place is so gross!" Tsuru whined, repulsed at the fine-looking ladies in bikinis as he ducked for cover. "All these girls are naked! I can't go another step!"

In order to rectify the situation, Hcaz had to platform across the ocean using giant beach balls, where he could land on an island laboratory and borrow the local weather machine. With some quick finagling, the weather machine cast a blizzard over the land. The girls could no longer embrace the sun and the heat, forced to don coats. "Aaaaahh!…" Tsuru's head shot up, taking in the sight of the babes in their lovely thick coats. "I think I'm undergoing character growth!"

"Not under this rating." Hcaz led Tsuru across the beach-turned-blizzard, and they would soon come upon a beautiful summer forest. Monkeys were happily hopping around the trees and throwing carrots down, due to some trade agreement with the bunnies. It was in this forest where Tsuru would complete his next step toward adulthood: picking up a musket and shooting the shifty apes down. The five-year-old felt powerful with the gun in hand, smirking up at the monkeys and letting fire. _BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!_

When he's finished killing monkeys-

 _BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!_

When he's finished killing monkeys-

 _BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!_

When he's finished-

 _BANG! BANG!_

STOP IT! So with that, Tsuru's body lit up and grew a few feet taller. When the light vanished, Tsuru had become a Charmeleon. Or as we'll call him, Czarmeleon. "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!" Hcaz shouted.

Thankfully, since the monkeys were all dead, there was nothing to stop the construction crew from tearing down the forest and building a Pokémon stadium. Hcaz would have to rely on his trusty Charmeleon to defeat his rival trainer, Turquoise, whom was an ordinary human boy in a turquoise hat and shirt. "I choose you, Stone Crocodile Head!" Turquoise tossed his Pokéball, and as was expected, the creature to pop out was a Koopa Troopa.

"It's not worth my energy to scream at these things anymore." Hcaz sighed. "Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!"

"Chaaarrr!" Tsuru blew fire at the two-legged tortoise and swallowed him in embers. The attack was useless, because Koopa Troopa was a rock guitarist with spiky pink hair and tattoos on every part of his tissue. "You're just throwing up whatever crap you think of!" Hcaz argued.

It was then that Hcaz realized that his normal routine wouldn't cut it in this world. He would have to step up his game and be a little more creative. (On you, Hcazzy.) "Oh, I'll show you creative! Charmeleon, use The Finger!"

Czarmeleon flashed his finger at the Koopa. The turtle stared at it silently. He then cut off Czarmeleon's nail and rode away with it on a caravan, wedding bells ringing from afar. "…I will hate myself forever." Hcaz remarked.

"I summon my next Pokémon!" Turquoise threw a ball that popped open. "A Team of Sushi Chefs!" Ten sushi chefs came out of it.

"WE ARE SUSHI!" they chorused.

"Sushi Team, attack them with Ziploc Bags on a Stick!" Turquoise ordered.

"WE SHA'!" The sushi chefs charged at Tsuru wielding Ziploc bags on pencils.

"Charmeleon, drop Canada on their heads!" Hcaz commanded.

"Repeated naaame!" Czarmeleon raised the country high and smashed the chefs underneath.

"WE SHARPEN OUR PENCILS!" The sushi chefs used Canada's Silver Sharpener to make their pencils sharpen their swords.

"Unfortunately for you, the sharpener spins so fast, you were sucked inside and grinded into bedsprings!" Hcaz counterattacked.

"THAT, HAS GUT, TO HU'T!" the chefs cried, having been grinded into such.

"DANG IT, Turquoise!" Turquoise's mother began scolding the shameful boy. "I told you to eat more brussel sprouts and wash your underwear! Now, go sit with the rest of your brothers!"

"Yes, Mom." The defeated trainer sadly went to sit in a room with his dozens of colored clones, like Magenta, Beige, or Light-Caramel, all of whom had their heads drooped in shame.

 _"The winner of the tournament is Hcaz Yhprum and his Czarmeleon!"_ the announcer announced. _"Do you know what he wins?! A most-expenses paid trip to New Jersey!"_

"I hope it's better than Old Yesrej." Hcaz replied. But wrong he was, for while he expected clear skies and mansions with luxurious pools, here he was in a town of smoggy skies, factories, and police sirens. "Any person or place that is in this level, you are basically just effing them."

Be that as it may, Tsuru's next step to manhood was in this town. Somewhere in the magical land of New Jersey was a bar called "Old Meter Maids." Oh, there it is! Inside this dark dank bar were tough-looking thugs smoking and playing pool or poker. If our young Czarmeleon was going to evolve, he would have to play the part. "By playing both pool AND poker?" Hcaz asked.

No! By catching the fish swimming in the electrical circuits. Why else do you think this place is so dark? "Makes as much sense as anything else."

Tsuru Czarmeleon held the fishing pole firmly while the hook was up in the wiring. He wore a morbid expression and smoked a cigar. The thugs were staring at him, awestruck by his cool demeanor. Czarmeleon blew a smoke, then tapped his cigar to drop a few specs of soot on the floor. He felt a tug and began reeling the rod. "The bait I used must really be working!"

The ceiling collapsed when the fish was completely reeled, for the bait used was none other than Big the Fat Purple Cat. "WHY WOULD A FISH BE LURED TO THAT?!" Hcaz screamed.

The Evolution process resumed once again, turning Tsuru Tsurulina from an adolescent Czarmeleon into a teenage Japanese knight on a black stallion. "Whoa, that's quite the change!"

"HARK, it is TIME TO RIDE!" Tsuru kicked his steed, and Hcaz hopped on as they rode under the night. "The Summer Solstice is almost upon us! We have nary a second to waste!"

"Why?! Where are we going?" Hcaz asked impatiently.

"We must journey to the beach!" Before long, they arrived at a sunny beach that was completely different from the one they froze earlier. "It is time to enjoy summer… in bathing suits!" Tsuru threw off his armor and exposed his two-piece American Flag swimsuit, the sun glinting off his chrome dome.

"You were repulsed by all those girls at the other beach, but I don't think you looked in the mirror!"

"If you keep staring at me, you have to pay riyals." Tsuru stated. "Now let's round up the boys and play FOOTBALL!" The future Czar started playing soccer with a team of churros.

"JUST PICK A COUNTRY!"

The football match between Samurai Tsuru and the Churro Burros lasted for three fortnights. That was before Marco kicked the ball into the window of a British piano musician, who won the rights to the team in a lawsuit. Five years later, they became Ubisoft. "Sweet, so let's play _Rayman_ and get on with our day." Hcaz stated.

The next phase of Tsuru's development was working in a boring business burrow. In one of many dark offices lit only by a candle, he was typing on a tiny calculator and signing papers, growing envious of all those colorful _Rayman_ characters and their platforming adventures. "Wait, wasn't Rayman suffering as a result of the Platform Revolution?!" Hcaz realized. "How could he already exist if we just invented Ubisoft?!"

So Tsuru decided to stage a coup, rounding up his old churro buddies and luring the top officials into box traps using Reese's Pieces. Tsuru became the new President of Ubisoft. The _Rayman_ franchise was taken over by Rabbids, which would torment the Dream World for centuries. "Nothing in this stage can be canon."

Hcaz, everything I write is canon. Everything I unwrite is uncanon. Even if I write out a cannon. (R.I.P. Gilbert)

"Who's Gilbert?"

My pet cannon. But with that, Tsuru's next phase of Evolution commenced. He grew as his light silhouette shaped like a proud adult—which shrunk down into a tiny white dot with a wiggly tail. "HE REVERTED BACK INTO A SPERM! !" Hcaz's eyes popped out of his glasses.

The Underground music from _Super Mario Bros._ played. In his sperm form, Tsuru would have to navigate a maze of mall-goers, in order to buy a pair of Size Ones. This would evolve him back into a baby, and then the Evolution process could begin again. "Time for Part 2 of my story!" Professor Port said.

"NO WAY, ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Hcaz decided to seize the sperm and declared, "If anything goes in this world, I'm ending this stage early! Say hello to my Time Machine Microwave!"

He tossed Tsuru into the microwave and set it for fifty years. "MWAH HAAAA!" The future czar popped out as a full-grown adult with a blue jacket with red shoulder pads, a phoenix symbol on his forehead, and a shining bald head. Hcaz may have taken the easy way through this level, but real life ain't so easy. "Like anything in this level translates to real life!" Hcaz shouted.

In order for Tsurulina to complete his journey, he would have to face his greatest challenge, yet. _"That would be me, of course."_

Hcaz and Tsuru gasped, whipping around in the direction of the voice. A powerful and formidable titan towered above them, his body shadowed except for the smirk on his face. "It's him!" Tsuru exclaimed. "The current ruler of the Chrome Dome Empire! Czar Baldy Bald II!"

 _"That's right, Baldy Bald III. If you plan to claim the Sacred Wig of the Czar, you must battle with me. But be forewarned… I am a Master in-"_ The lights switched on—the towering shadow was actually an average-size cup of frappé with fruits and vegetables. "The Maracas Jamba Music, Mon!" He shook two maracas around.

"I CAN'T TELL WHAT KIND OF DRINK YOU ARE!" Hcaz shouted with a wide rectangular mouth.

"Be careful, Hcaz!" Tsuru III cautioned. "If he touches you with his maracas, you'll develop an interest in the first telephone!"

"Don't be so sad, old phones are da bombshell, Mon!" Tsuru II exclaimed. "Here I cooooome!" (Play "Love In My Tummy" by Arthur Resnick and Joey Levine!)

 _Boss fight: Baldy Bald II_

Hcaz and Tsuru III made a run down a castle hall, the two deciding to split different ways. Tsuru II spilled part of his liquid out and had it chase Hcaz. Tsuru III panicked when he saw the czar chasing him, and would have to take cover in an upcoming door to hide. The future czar dove in, but the current czar followed suit. The room in question had a long curtained table with tea and cakes. Tsuru II checked each little teapot to see if his opponent was hiding, and saw that one of the pots had _Not Fake_ written on it. Tsuru II smirked and opened the pot—a mousetrap flipped out and snapped him in the head.

Hcaz was caught in a dead end by the Fruitling Tsuru sent after him. The Fruitling raised a maraca and ran to strike him. Hcaz took a breath and mentally cursed himself before using the Lochness Monster Attack, wherein the lake monster popped out of the floor and ate the Fruitling. Hcaz ran around it to search for the others. He found Tsuru III clutching a chandelier in fear while Tsuru II was jumping and trying to hit him with maracas. Hcaz tossed the future Darkness a banana and told him it could become a rapier. Tsuru III caught the fruit and dropped to strike the frappé czar.

Suddenly, the Bunny Police arrived to arrest Hcaz, and a lawsuit was filed for making creative use of the trademarked fruit they had traded with the apes. "Oh, NOW there's continuity?!" Hcaz expressed.

The courtroom was instantly torn down when Tsuru III swung a wrecking ball through in his attempt to hit Tsuru II. The frappé czar continued dodging as Tsuru III tore down an arcade, Gruntilda's Lair, and Bowser's Castle. He gaped when the wrecking ball swung in his direction and smashed him out of the truck's cockpit, slamming Tsuru back-and-forth between a boulder and A Soft Place, which was a store that sold soft items like wool beds and paper doors. "Shouldn't the wrecking ball destroy that place?" Hcaz questioned.

Having pointed out the anomaly present, a space-time rift was created, tearing the universe asunder. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THAT!"

"Oh ho ho!" Tsuru II made use of the chaos by throwing UFOs at his enemies. "Even the destruction of a universe does not cease my jazzing, Mon!"

"That may be so!" Tsuru III countered. "But you've yet to see the new universe that will create!"

They swirled into a cosmic cyclone and landed in the new world. Hcaz, Tsuru II, and Tsuru III were working on a Dorito farm. "It's 100% unnatural like everything ELSE in this dump!" the former shouted.

"Look, Pa!" Tsuru III picked out a Dorito with a green stain. "This one still has a bit of green! I say we keep it."

"Oh ho ho, you're so silly, Son!" Tsuru II laughed. "NO ONE WANTS A STAINED DORITO!" He furiously threw it to the sky.

"NOOOO!" Tsuru III cried.

"You big JERK!" Hcaz yelled passionately. "He just wanted a pet Dorito! All he has in his life is a messed-up development system! After everything he's been through, you won't let him have a Dorito with a green stain?! WELL, NO SIR!" He swung his foot and blasted Chuck Norris out of his shoe, dealing a painful blow to the frappé.

"Listen to me, Czar Milkshake!" Hcaz grabbed Doritos from the farm and tossed them like shurikens. "I don't know who you are or how you came to be alive, but you're messing with the wrong kid with anger issues!" Hcaz reached into the soil and grabbed Augustus and Wendy by the ankles. He dug his head in the ground and grabbed Nerehc in his teeth. "I don't know what you may've heard, but I'm more important than I look!" He attacked Tsuru II with Three-Character Style, swinging the three characters like swords.

"No!" Tsuru II struggled to withstand the strikes. "I am the juiciest cup of frappé there's even been, Mon! I am too much for a character as minor as yourself!"

"Well, NEWSFLASH, buddy!" Hcaz threw the three protagonists away and surged with power. "I am better than ANY of those three nerds!" He exploded the ground with his powerful energy. " **I** AM THE STAR… _OF THIS STORY! ! !"_ The entire country was ravaged, and Tsuru II was blasting off with Augustus, Wendy, and Nerehc.

"AAAAH!" From the stars of space, Tsuru II could gaze at the marvel he created. "He…He changed the Earth into… ICE CREAM SUNDAE!" The sight was so bright and magnificent, the czar melted into nothing. _"I feel like a bird, Mon…"_

"No." stated a man in a tuxedo and bird mask. " _I_ … am Birdman." (End song.)

Hcaz gasped after realizing what he did. He stared at his hand. Having discovered his Bo-bobo Kempo, Hcaz was ready to follow his destiny: to bring peace to the Land of Paper Planes by sending love letters between nations. "Wait, that wasn't in the script! !" Medusa shouted. "You can't just drop a random destiny on some minor character! We don't have time to prepare, it won't look good when we get it out!"

Hey, I worked in Bill Cipher. Now that Czar Baldy Bald II has been defeated, Czar Baldy Bald III was ready to take his place among anime characters with funny English names. He stepped into the throne to Chrome Dome Empire, but behind that throne was a certain stone. Hcaz joined him in approaching it, knowing it was the stone they were looking for: a trapezoid with a nose at the top, and gibberish letters that all looked like B, L, A, or H. "IT'S A TRAPEGLYPH?!" Hcaz gaped.

Baldy Bald read the writing to unlock his destiny (to play as in _Smash Bros. Brawl_ ): _Congratulations, Baldy, you won the contest! You can choose one of two prizes: A) A membership in the Thirteen Darknesses, or B) your own story in the One Thousand and One Nights._

"I'll take Thousand and One Nights!" Tsuru beamed.

"WHAT?! ?" Hcaz yelled infuriated.

 **Tsuru Tsurulina III awakened as the _First Night_! Only One Thousand to go! And it was up to Hcaz to-**

"I'M NOT SPENDING ANOTHER SECOND IN THIS WORLD! !" Hcaz held a peanut up to Tsuru. "Become a Darkness or I'll test your immune system."

"Gyaaah! Okay!" The czar panicked. "I'll become a Darkness! (Provided I get a free pen.)"

The Trapeglyph sneezed a cloud of dust on Tsuru. Red hair grew on his bald head, the Royal Wig.

 **Okay, Tsuru III became a _Darkness_. Only 2 more to go. (Lame.)**

 **Portal Chamber**

The Multiverse Portal called Hcaz back eventually. However, the ray of light got stuck in traffic on the 405 Freeway, so Hcaz's stay in Bo-bobo Land was prolonged. He landed before Nerehc with torn clothes and a manic face. "Hey, Hcaz. How was the mission?" Nerehc asked.

Hcaz pointed at him threateningly. "Never. Again." And he stomped away.

Medusa shuddered, feeling a sudden chill down her spine. "What's wrong, Medusa?" asked Thanatos.

"…I'm just remembering… our first meeting with Tsurulina. His powers were unlike any other's… I think he is the only Darkness I dread meeting again."

 **The 1700s**

It was a dark era in history where much of the population had gone without hair. Baldness was an epidemic. There were no beauty pageants and barbers were out of business. Japan was especially targeted for its rather peculiar hairstyles. ("Did we even have those things back then?" Medusa asked.)

Czar Baldy Bald III absorbed all the power from their shaven heads, absorbing the luscious Hair Chi into his veins. "Yes! YES! BWAH HA HA!" The czar brimmed with power as his red hair grew like vines. "Supreme power is at my behest! There is nothing you can do to stop me, Mew!"

"Mewww!" The Ancestral Firstborn spawned eight pink Psycho Spheres and cast them at Tsuru, exploding against him. When the smoke cleared, the czar was protected inside a giant bottle of sunscreen. "It's hopeless! My Hair Hunt powers have reached the maximum level!"

"How does THIS translate to Hair Hunt power?!" Medusa exclaimed.

"Now I will use Special Attack Number 53! The Age of Children and Pie!" The world flashed, creating a sunny landscape where children gobbled up blueberry pie.

"What is THAT supposed to do?!"

"Mister? Would you like some pie?" an adorable little boy asked Tsuru.

"Don't mind if I do!" Tsuru took the pie and ate it. He paused: "WAIT! This pie! It's… BLACKBERRY!" He was blown into the sky.

"Does that cancel out your attack?" asked Medusa.

"No! But a blackberry stole my wallet once and I was in the middle of looking for him! Sorry, Mew, maybe some other time!" The czar zipped off, leaving a trail of dust. Medusa sighed in disbelief.

 _The gods decided that Mew was the only spirit capable of defeating the mad czar. But even Tsuru's antics tested the Firstborn's imagination. The battle lasted for five days. It ended when Mew caught Tsuru in the School Trap, forcing him to undergo 300 years of remedial English._

"I just wanted to be a physiciaaaan!" Tsuru cried.

* * *

 **And before you ask… no. Hcaz is not. :P I think before I do more Side Stories, I'll cover some ground in the Main Story, because the Side Stories won't have much to go after this. We have nearly all the Darknesses, and Wendy and Augustus's stories are near to finishing. Atbash Cipher today, short but with a subtle meaning. :P**

 **…**

 ** _OZDMVHHMVHH XZM'G YV NVZHFIVW_**

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_ Tsuru killed three more monkeys.


	31. When Fate is Decided

**Well, I put this off long enough. Ready to find two more Darknesses? I am. :P This chapter comes before Chapter 68.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-31: When Fate is Decided_**

 **Portal Chamber**

Medusa approached the scanner and presented a Keyblade with a light-blue bar and a clock design for teeth, composed of intricate designs. The Multiverse Portal targeted a dimension marked with a Heartless emblem. _"Destination set for: 'Kingdom Hearts.'"_

Nerehc played the Ocarina of Time, and Fi instructed the instrument to warp back 55 years. Medusa stared at the spinning blue portal before turning to her chosen candidate. "You remember why I brought you, correct?"

"Yeah." Kimaya Heartly answered, still wearing her cowgirl uniform. "You said you would tell me about this Seven Lights stuff and why I got these keys. You said the 'other Keeper of Keys' was in that portal?"

"Yes, Kimaya. One of the Thirteen Darknesses, Master Xehanort resides in that dimension. Based on his information, Kingdom Hearts is the center of a Dimensional Fusion just like ours. His role in the prophecy is similar to yours, I presume. It's only fitting you two should learn it together."

"A'ight, then. This portal better not stretch me all funny." Kimaya hopped on her skateboard and surfed through the Dimensional Byway.

"After she finds the Darkness, we don't need this portal, anymore?" Nerehc asked for clarification.

"That's right. Granted, it would be fun to explore the Multiverse, but… I have more important matters." Medusa answered. "We still have one more Darkness to awaken after this."

"But counting Xehanort, we only awakened 10 Darknesses. Were some of them already awakened?"

"Yes, two of them were, and I didn't need to interfere. However, there's another dilemma at hand: rescuing the Darknesses from Underworld Prison. I only succeeded in rescuing Teach… saving the others will require special help. We need the Firstborn."

 **Dimension "Kingdom Hearts"**

Kimaya skated through a sea of bubbles, some of which depicted a blonde-haired man with a goatee, a brown-haired girl with blue eyes, and what looked like Donald Duck and Goofy. She vanished in a gateway of light shaped like a keyhole. (Play "Hollow Bastion" from _Kingdom Hearts II_!)

Kimaya landed on the base of a blue gorge where water seemed to flow upward along the walls. She gazed at the towering castle in the distance – pink smoke emitted from its towers, and it was marked with the Heartless emblem. Kimaya held up her key ring, then faced the castle again. "Whoever made up this prophecy… why'd they pick me, anyway?"

 _Stage B-27: Radiant Garden_

 _Mission: Find Xehanort's Pyrameglyph._

When Kimaya stepped on the water, it was unusually solid. Kimaya jumped three platforms to a higher level of the gorge, but there was nowhere else to jump to. Kimaya entered a large bubble on the water's surface and was carried down underneath. Kimaya struck a pile of rocks clogging a drain, erupting a water spout that blew her up to a platform. From here, she faced a series of water spouts of varying height, but since they were several feet apart, Kimaya rode her skateboard into the first one, flew up, and could fly to the next ones thanks to the momentum.

At the end of the gorge, Kimaya landed on a solid laser rail, grinding it as it carried her over the misty plain and to the great castle. "This place is like major sci-fi. Am I gonna see any floating bikes? I'mma get me one of them. Whoa!" There were electric sparks traveling along the rail, forcing Kimaya to jump them. Eventually, she could land on a walkway near the base of the castle, gazing up at its marvel.

Kimaya approached a large double-doorway at the end of the walkway. She knocked on it. "HELLOOO! ANYONE HOME?" No answer. "A big castle like this has to have SOME people. …I guess they can't afford a gatekeeper. Oh wait, but I got this!" Kimaya drew her Oathkeeper and shot a laser at the gate. It creaked and echoed as it slid open. Kimaya entered a massive foyer with a fountain in the center of the twin stairs.

Kimaya saw a silver-haired teenager walking to a door above the stairs. He wore a gray sleeveless shirt and same-colored pants with black shoes. The boy stopped and glanced at Kimaya, his orange eyes brimming with curiousness for the cowgirl. He ignored her and entered the door. "'ey!" Kimaya ran across the room—she halted when five Darkball Heartless appeared. Kimaya slashed her Keyblade at the Heartless, but one of them zipped around a center and blocked her attack while another bit her from behind. Kimaya whipped out Oblivion and jumped away, blasting laser bullets to kill the last three Heartless.

"They in this world too, huh?" Kimaya sheathed Oblivion and ran to the stairs, afterwards entering the door the teenager went. The door led her to a library, a maze of bookshelves full of volumes Kimaya would never, ever want to read. Books like these looked so confusing to her—in fact, she was literally lost within the maze of shelves. There were rows of volumes defined by their colors, but a row of blue books appeared to be missing one. Kimaya located a similar blue book in a dead end on a fourth-row shelf, jumping to grab it and bring it back to fill the missing space. The bookshelf slid open. "This actually makes libraries better."

Kimaya entered the new passage and found stairs leading to a second floor. The stairs were beside a row of tall, yellow windows, and underneath the stairs was a small table. The silver-haired boy was occupying it, reading a book. He looked up when Kimaya approached. "Judging by your attire, I'm assuming you're not from around here." he said.

"Well, this ain't look like a Western world." Kimaya remarked. "I'm looking for a guy named Xehanort, you know him?"

" _I_ am Xehanort."

"Oh!" Kimaya was surprised. Recalling Darkrai's story, apparently this was the boy who would wage a war in her universe, starting from Nightmare Land. It felt awkward meeting this young, handsome version of him.

"If I were to guess, is your name Kimaya?"

She gasped. "You know mah name?!"

"I was foretold of your arrival by myself. I was told that a Keyblade wielder in strange garb would come from a distant world and take me to my destiny."

"You were told that by yourself?"

"More or less." Xehanort closed the book. "Ha ha ha! I must sound really strange to you, don't I?" He smiled.

"Yeah, I kinda thought I would have to explain why I'm here without actually telling you… and I would be SUPER confused 'cause I don't get none of this shit!"

Xehanort looked down at the Keyblade in her hand. "So, you wield the Oathkeeper. You must have made an important promise to someone."

"Oh, you recognize it! Can you tell me about any of these?" Kimaya showed him the ring of six keys.

Xehanort held up the one with king's crown teeth as an example. "I see… These will go to the Chosen Ones. Then you _are_ one of the Seven Lights."

"'kay, you really know a lot more than me."

"My future self didn't tell me everything… but I was told that an ocean of brand new worlds would be open to me." Xehanort stood and stared out the window, a wondrous smile on his face. "Worlds more vast and more amazing than _any_ in this universe." He raised a hand and clasped the air. "As a child, I could only dream about what worlds lie beyond my island home… Now, I want to see those worlds. I want to see and know everything."

"Well, you do that, man. Dream high, don't let anything stop you. By the way, you seen any stone pyramids around here? I'm kinda supposed to take you to that."

"I can't imagine where that'd be, though I haven't seen the upper portion of this castle. Heartless lurk around up there. But no matter how much I insist I can fight them, Master Ansem forbids me from exploring."

"Well, sometimes you need to rebel if you wanna get anywhere in life. I say screw this Hansem guy and check out the upper portion."

"Hm hm. I like your spirit, Kimaya." Xehanort grinned. "I'll fight the Heartless alongside you." He raised his right hand as a Keyblade spawned, the same Keyblade with a clock design Medusa had. "This Keyblade allows me to manipulate time. My future self gave it to me."

"I should ask _my_ future self to tell me the songs I write."

"I know a secret entrance that leads higher up the castle. It's upstairs."

Xehanort and Kimaya followed the stairs to the second floor of the library. One of the bookshelves had a row of green books with a sky-blue one amongst it. Kimaya removed that book and jumped down to the maze of shelves to find where it goes. She stuck the book with its other volumes, but nothing happened. She wandered around lost for several minutes, until Xehanort pointed out the book she had put back was Volume 6, and was in the place of Volume 8. Kimaya huffed and switched the volumes to their correct locations.

The bookshelf opened, revealing a crystal switch in a dead end. Kimaya ignited the switch with her Keyblade, and they heard loud _WHIR_ sounds. Xehanort led her back upstairs, indicating the columns around the room. The columns had open slots with turnable things inside, spinning rapidly. They jumped over the bookshelves to a column in the corner. With key timing, Xehanort used his Keyblade to freeze the spinner in time, having to do so repeatedly until it would stop where he wanted. Finally, he stopped it to where they could get the green book inside, carry it back to return to its shelf, and open the secret entrance.

The passage led to the central room of the castle: an elevator room where platforms traveled along laser rails to different parts of the castle. One of the rails connected at their platform and spiraled up the room. "I guess the lift from this chamber is broken." Xehanort said.

"We don't need them. Can you do this?" Kimaya used her skateboard to grind up the rail, and seeing this inspired Xehanort to do the same with his Keyblade. By some force of magic, the gravity shifted in their favor while on the rail, allowing them to go up without fear of plummeting. They ducked left and right to avoid hanging, electrified rails. The rail brought them outside, but they had little time to admire the view of the misty field before spikeball Heartless appeared around the rail, forcing them to shift sideways or upside-down to dodge them.

The rail dropped them on an upper level of the outside – a courtyard with pretty flowers and numerous fountains. Wizard Heartless, purple floating witches with magic wands appeared. Kimaya crossed her Keyblades to block a lightning strike from a Wizard, then leapt for a double-slash—the Wizard dropped to the ground and melted, releasing its captive heart. "Dang, _Wizard of Oz_ , much?"

Xehanort slashed the other Wizards, only to watch them melt on the spot. "I've never seen these types of Heartless before. There's something off about them."

With the creatures easily defeated, they searched for a way out of the courtyard (Kimaya wanted to take a "quicker" way than entering the door). She noticed two higher fountains next to a lower fountain, and she used that fountain's spout to boost up to the higher ones. The left fountain was off, so she used the right one to boost up to a pipe along the wall. Kimaya sidled across to a platform with a valve. She turned it counterclockwise, turning off the right fountain and giving power to the left.

Kimaya and Xehanort used this fountain to boost up to a fenced ledge, where a training field rested. Cannon Gun and Spiked Crawler Heartless attacked them. The cannons took one hit while the Crawlers took three hits before they melted. "Hey Xehanort, what are Heartless, anyway?" Kimaya asked over the fighting.

"They're creatures born from the darkness in peoples' hearts. A long time ago, they appeared when Keyblade masters were more common… but that was during an age of war. According to Master Ansem, they're unusually common in this world."

"Why you think that is?"

Xehanort slew a Spiked Crawler and watched it dissolve. "It may have something to do with these abominations. Real Heartless are comprised of darkness."

The two went up stairs to an archway with a lift leading down to a lower area. Xehanort indicated the control tower on the right, wondering if they could redirect the light-rail upward. They grinded down as the rail led inside to another transmit chamber. Kimaya and Xehanort jumped sparks on the rail as they entered the vast complex of rails. The rail curved left, and when they passed a crystal switch, Kimaya hit it so the rail would redirect down, right, then curve left. They passed a rail that led into a passage behind them, but that passage was blocked by laser barriers.

Kim and Xehanort kept gliding on the beam before jumping to one on the left, which would lead into a spiral with a switch in the center. Kim jumped the sparks and hit the switch, the rail redirecting up slightly. They would pass another switch and hit it, resulting in the laser barriers moving at odd angles. They maneuvered to the rail that would carry them through the passage, but realized how fast the lasers were moving and leaving little time to pass their openings. Xehanort jumped over Kimaya and grinded in front to freeze the lasers in time when the openings were present. Kimaya was impressed with his quick reactions—she barely noticed the crystal switch on her right, flicking it just in time to change the course right.

The rail shifted up and dropped them in the control chamber, where they had view of the rail that led them into the complex to begin with. They flicked a switch and watched that rail change course up into a taller tower, starting from their tower's window. With it, they glided up to the tallest tower of the castle. They glanced at the label _Secret Projects_ before setting foot in a dim passage. Kimaya went ahead and entered a door, then accidentally bumped into a man in a labcoat and fell down. (End song.)

"Whoops! Sorry, didn't realize anybody else took this route." The man bent down and helped Kimaya up. He had dark-grey hair and a big round nose, as well as a 5-o'clock shadow. "Name's Ford, how do ya do?" He shook Kim's hand.

Kimaya noticed the six fingers on his hand. "EUH!" She pulled hers away. "What up with the extra finger?"

"Ah, that." Ford raised both hands. "Just a birth defect, I'm not an alien or anything. 'Course in this world, I sort of am." He glanced down to see Kimaya get up and brush off her cowboy hat. "Speaking of which, you look pretty different yourself."

"Yeah yeah, going cowgirl was the wrong choice here." Kim remarked.

"It's not that." Ford got down on his knees and used measuring tape to measure Kim's eyes, head, etc.. "Head disproportionately large… eyes unusually beady… your arms are relative size; ten fingers. Take off your boots and let me see your feet."

"Hey, back off, weirdo!" Kim smacked his hand and put her hat on. "Everyone in mah world look this way! (Most of 'em.)"

" _Your_ world?" As they were talking, Xehanort decided to walk around them. "How did you get here, exactly?"

"Some kind of portal."

"A portal?! Was it a triangular portal, inside a bunker?"

"Yeh, it was…" Kimaya was intrigued by his familiarity with the subject.

A look of surprise and horror crossed Ford's features. "No… but that can only mean… he fixed it."

" _Who_ fixed it?"

"Bill fixed it." Ford stood and turned. "Which means… the prophecy must be happening."

"You know about the Seven Lights Prophecy, too?"

Ford turned halfway and stared at her with one eye. "You seem confused. Tell me… what is your business here, anyway?"

"Well, people are telling me I'm one o' the Seven Lights, Xehanort's a Darkness, and both of us are 'Keepers of Keys.' I came here to help him find a pyramid."

"A pyramid?!" Ford gasped. "Where is Xehanort now?"

"He…" Kimaya turned. "Where did he go?"

Xehanort approached a slightly open doorway with a blue light seeping out of it. He peeked in and saw Master Ansem, a young scientist with blonde hair, as well as his assistants, gathered around a machine. Above the machine was a huge bubble with hearts floating about. "You want to cancel the project _now_?" a blue-haired scientist asked. "But they're almost stable! With just a few adjustments…"

"We cannot." Ansem stated. "The new Heartless infestation has forced many of the castle's occupants to flee to town. I fear these experiments are only attracting them. It's true that I hoped to control the Heartless by means of our own artificial creations… but we must consider the well-being of the other worlds. Radiant Garden is a Core World that links to the other worlds. If too many Heartless roam free… there could be disaster."

Xehanort bypassed them and found a larger room, where a red carpet led to an altar, in-between six light-blue crystal chambers. Xehanort walked up the altar to find an incomplete machine, and a stone pyramid rested before it. The pyramid had a keyhole in its base. Xehanort drew his blade and shot a beam at the keyhole. The act caused the pyramid's writing to glow.

"Master Ansem!" Ford burst into the laboratory. "Ansem, there's something…?"

Ansem and the two scientists were stiff as statues. Kimaya poked a silver-haired one's leg, but got no response. "Is this some kind of seizure?"

"It's timebending." Ford instinctively knew.

"Xehanort's Keyblade can timebend!"

"Then let's go!" Ford led her further down the hall.

 _Keeper of the Keys, you are the key component to the Thirteen Darknesses. Bring these keys to the Chosen Ones to see brand new worlds._

Xehanort read his Pyrameglyph aloud, and a dark aura flew inside him. The pyramid opened like a triangular box, the letters coming off in the form of Unown. _"Unown! Unown! Unown!"_ The creatures fled from the castle. In place of the pyramid was a floating ring of twelve keys. Xehanort took the ring and studied the keys. One was white and shiny with crystal teeth and a yellow diamond keychain. One was black with a white flame-design hilt, skull keychain, and flame teeth. One had six colored gems around its hilt, finger-like teeth, and a gauntlet keychain.

"Xehanort!" He turned to find Kimaya and Ford. "Xehanort, listen to me, you don't know what you're getting into!" the latter said.

"He kind of does." Kim mentioned. "He talked to his future self or something. He knew I was coming, knew about the prophecy…"

"No, you don't understand, both of you." Ford looked at Kim. "Kimaya, I was the one who created the Multiverse Portal. I created it to visit the Original Worlds and study the comparisons between them and our world. Bill helped me realize my dream… but one night, I received a dream from an ancient spirit called The Chronicler."

 _"The Original Worlds were never meant to be accessed from your world." The Chronicler's voice echoed in the vast, empty space where Ford floated. "Doing so would cause hazardous effects to the Space-Time Continuum. My knowledge on the Worlds is limited… but it is possible that prolonged use of the portal would cause them to leak into one-another. Doctor Pines… perhaps you should learn more on Bill's chaotic history."_

"I realized Bill was a demon who craved destruction." Ford continued. "I surmised he tried to spread his chaos to the Original Worlds. I was going to destroy the portal completely… but The Chronicler advised against it. He told me about the Twenty Keys Prophecy and how it could save the universe. I didn't know what to do, but I feared Bill would abuse the portal. So without his knowing, I changed the portal's programming and used it to escape to this world so he could never find me. (This world is a personal favorite of mine.)"

"That's a very intriguing story." Xehanort said. "But my destiny is already decided. Isn't that right, Xehanort?"

"Indeed." The two whipped around. A man in a light-brown cloak came onto the altar and removed his hood. He had a bald head, a small white beard, and orange eyes and brown skin that matched his younger self.

"You're… the Future Xehanort." Kimaya observed.

"I didn't want this encounter to be interrupted, so I froze the other scientists." Future Xehanort said with a smirk. "Kimaya Heartly… the Keeper of Keys for the Seven Lights. What is your middle name?"

Kimaya raised a brow, confused. "It's Kamilla. After my mom."

"Seven letters in 'Heartly.' Six letters in 'Kimaya', makes 13… seven letters in 'Kamilla', makes 20. You really are the Key to the prophecy. Even the word 'heart' is in your name, too."

"What do you mean 'too'?"

Xehanort used the Keyblade to write his name in the air. Removing the "X", he rearranged the letters to make _No Heart_. "I came here, Kimaya, because I wanted you to know, a person's fate is decided from the beginning. We were born to wield the Keyblades. We were born to complete our destinies. Also… I wanted to test your abilities!" Xehanort lunged forth and slashed his Keyblade.

Kimaya blocked with both her blades and leapt above to strike him—Xehanort dodged the simple attack and whacked Kim away, then flipped over for a round of swings that Kim struggled to counter. With one hand behind his back, Xehanort was faster with his one Keyblade than Kimaya with both of hers. Kimaya took a breath and farted a huge gas cloud, forcing Ford to hold his breath, but Xehanort simply jumped through the gas, threw more swings, and knocked Kimaya off her feet.

"I'm not impressed." Xehanort said. "But why should I be? All you managed to slay were a few meager Heartless."

"For yo' information, I took out a crazy guy that shot lasers!"

"The Corporate President, you mean. Like I said, a few meager Heartless. Ford was right, Kim, you've no idea what you're getting into. On the Day of Apocalypse, you will-" The castle began to tremble.

A powerful beam burst through the ceiling and burned into the ground. Ford pushed Xehanort out of the way and yelled, "Kimaya, you have to return home and shut down the portal!"

"Why don't you come with me?!"

"I'm the only one who will know how to rebuild the portal, so I can't risk coming. I'm not sure how this prophecy will play out, but I think it's in our best interests the portal is taken down. Go home, please. But, if I could ask a favor, I would like you to find my son and give him this." Ford gave Kimaya a small key – a Keyblade in its pre-summoned form. It had a clock-design handle and clock hands for teeth. "His name is Jagar King. I don't know how old he is in your time, but he should live in Iceland. Tell him his dad is doing okay. Go!"

Kimaya clasped the key, nodded, and dove into the light. It vanished from existence shortly after. "Hur hur hm hrm." Xehanort chuckled. "You simple man, Ford… don't you realize why I'm here? Your worst fear has already been realized."

 **Xehanort awakened as a _DARKNESS_. There's only 1 more…**

 **Portal Chamber**

Kimaya skated out of the portal and skid to a halt, picking her board up. "Did you find him?" Nerehc asked her.

"Yeah, I found Xehanort. BOTH Xehanorts!" Kimaya exclaimed. "There was a young one and an old one who… kinda looked and sounded like Spock from _Star Trek_."

"Well, did either of them find the pyramid?"

"Yeah, the young Xehanort had a key ring, so I guess he read it. …Where'd that snake lady go?"

"Medusa already left. She trusted you would find Xehanort and said once you did, we didn't need this portal anymore."

"When I was in there, I also met the guy who created this portal. He said we need to destroy it or…" The chamber began trembling. "You feel that?"

"Is it an earthquake?" Nerehc asked himself. "The portal creates a lot of gravity anomalies in this town. Maybe it's—AAAAHH!" A blinding pink light swallowed the chamber, the silhouettes of their bodies waving. When it vanished, Nerehc and Kimaya waited for their vision to return. The room had grown darker, so Nerehc held two violet flames in his hands. "W…What?"

Dipper and Mabel reentered the chamber from the secret passage, the former holding a flashlight. "Nerehc, we saw a bright light. Is everything—WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PORTAL?!"

"How should I know?!" Nerehc exclaimed. Almost every piece of equipment in the cave had vanished, including the Master Emerald, the Tesseract, and the triangular portal burning with energy. "Fi, did you see what happened?"

 _"Hilariously-Confused Nerehc, I am unable to determine a source for the anomaly that has occurred. However, I took measures to recover the Ocarina of Time when the quakes began."_ Fi took the ocarina out of her cape and returned it to Nerehc.

"Thanks." Nerehc looked around, still confused. "I wonder if Medusa had something to do with it. I guess we can't use it anymore if we wanted to. I think your job is done, Fi. You can go back to your boss."

 _"Affirmative. Not Master Nerehc, it was a pleasure working with you."_ Fi turned into a ball of light and flew up through the ceiling.

"Hey, can you two take this girl back to her place?" Nerehc asked the Pines.

"Hold on, Cheren told us you were one of the Seven Lights." Dipper said to Kimaya. "Maybe we can take you to meet the other ones. It's probably safer—if the Government knows who you are, they'll send their assassins after you."

"Well, I did kinda kill a CEO. Okay, I'll go with you… but hey, do you guys know anyone named Jagar King?" Kimaya raised the clock Keyblade.

 **Somewhere outside the atmosphere**

The Multiverse Portal reappeared on an asteroid, its equipment and pieces scattered about. A man with a black-and-white face chuckled maliciously. "Hm hm hm hm. The Multiverse… is _ours_ now."

 **Termina Dimension; Sector V**

It was the 8th sleepless night Truman Kirman has had. He's had insomnia troubles before, but ever since his trip to Egypt with AlyakAm, it has been worse. It was 7:00 in the morning when Melissa Gilligan entered his room. She was upset to see the redness in his bright blue eyes, the bags forming like an adult who passed out drinking. "Truman, you couldn't sleep _again_? Not even after that cocoa I gave you?"

"I didn't have trouble sleeping." Truman lied. "I'm just trying to wake up."

"Truman, this is starting to worry me. I think we should take you to a doctor." She grabbed his arm to pull him up-

"I SAID I'M FINE! ! Can you go ONE night without BOTHERING me?!"

Melissa jumped back, startled by his outburst. "I'm… sorry! I'll go make you breakfast, you can take your time."

Truman was once Delightfulized by Father like his parents, Eric and Ashley. His parents were broken from the spell, but they often sleepwalked, reverted to their Delightful states. Truman's spell was not as strong as theirs, but he still had nightmares of being under Father's control. The nightmares became worse when Truman's soul was trapped in his own glasses by Majora, and his Delightful self took over again. Melissa has been trying to help Truman forget his past; she helps him with homework and other matters, acting as his big sister. And Truman loved her like a sister. He never yelled at her like this.

Melissa poured a bowl of Rainbow Munchies and made toast for her friend. It was a happy breakfast any normal kid enjoyed, nothing fancy or yucky like Delightfuls would like. Truman lazily chewed his cereal, holding the golden ring with five dangling points and a pyramid with an eye in its center. A strange item he had collected from the tomb in Egypt. "What is that thing you found in the pyramid, anyway?" Melissa asked. "Basing my knowledge off of movies, maybe that has to do with your insomnia. Maybe it's… cursed."

"The only thing cursed is this cereal, it's DISGUSTING!" Truman smacked the bowl off the table, drenching the floor in milk and colorful treats. …Truman shook his head. "I'm sorry, Melissa, I'm sorry! I'll clean it up!" Truman ran to get a roll of paper towels.

"No, it's okay, I'll do it." Melissa took the roll and cleaned the spill herself. While she was doing so, Truman stood over her, his brows slanted over his dull eyes. The look gave her an unsettling feeling. "…Truman, are you sure you don't wanna see a doctor? I don't think your nightmares bothered you this much before."

"I keep hearing this noise in my head. It's like… an evil laugh. It goes like…"

 _"Hah hah hah ha, AHH hahahahahaha!"_

Melissa knew only one person to laugh like that. "Truman, we won't let anyone like Father get to you ever again. I'm sorry we couldn't protect you from Majora, but we'll do better next time. We won't let anyone hurt you."

 _"Like good, faithful servants."_ Truman smirked darkly.

"What?"

"Hah hah. Hah hah. When I see you on the floor like that, it's like you're bowing before me. Like I were a king, and you were my… man-chair."

"O-kay, now I have to say that's a no-no. I don't know what you learned in Egypt, but we don't do that, anymore."

"But it sounds fun, we should try it!" Truman hopped on Melissa's back like a horse.

"HEY, GET OFF!"

"What the heck are you doing?!" Celeste Stork yelled. The other four members of Sector V had walked in to witness the disturbing position.

"Hello, guys!" Truman climbed off. "Did everyone sleep well?"

"Not well enough, apparently!"

"Truman, you're too young to act like the Adult Playtime Rainbow Monkey!" Kellie stated.

Melissa stood up and said, "Truman's been acting weird this morning. And he never lets go of that ring."

"That ring from Egypt?" Harry Uno approached and reached for it. "Let me see-"

"DON'T TOUCH MY RING!" Truman smacked him.

"Ow! Alright, Truman, what's really going on here? Did that girl hit you with some kind of spell? Are you being possessed by a demon again?"

"DON'T talk to ME that way!" Truman snarled. "You've got no power over me and I am NOT your PUPPET!"

"I never said you were a puppet!"

Truman panted, anger still fuming in his eyes. "…Ahh…" He touched his head. "Where did that… come from?"

"Truman, we already stopped Father." Harry stated. "You already broke free of his control. Why are you acting like he's still got a hold on you? You're a person with free will, Truman, so act like it!"

"Huff…huff…" Truman eased his rage. "I…I'm going to lie down." He returned to his room.

Shortly after settling on his bed, he heard someone enter his room. Kellie Beatles placed a pink Rainbow Monkey in a star-decorated night cap and sweater over him. "Happy Sleepytime Rainbow Monkey will remove the soreness from your eyes." She turned and left.

Truman hugged the monkey to his chest and tried to sleep. But peaceful rest wouldn't come. The laughter still cackled in his mind. He thought it was Father, trying to possess him again. And yet, part of him knew… it was something else. It called to him… and he couldn't ignore it. He knew his friends would be upset. Truman did care for his team. He had a close bond with each of them. Sparring with Harry and Thomas, laughing at Kellie's jokes, hanging out with Melissa… but Truman had to remember, they were only mortal.

One of the points on his golden ring stood up. It was pointing at the window. He knew, then, it was time to follow it.

One hour later, Melissa came to check on him. "Truman? You feeling better?" She saw the blanket was pulled up over him and came to uncover it. "You shouldn't cover yourself like that, you'll have trouble breathing—!" She gasped, realizing the lump was the Rainbow Monkey and pillow. She noticed the window was open. "GUYS, TRUMAN'S GONE!"

Her teammates rushed in and viewed out the window. "Did he kill himself?!" Thomas exclaimed.

"He would be laying on the ground if he did!" Celeste reasoned.

"He must've gone somewhere, but where?!" Melissa followed.

"I have an idea. Come on!" Harry ordered.

 **Delightful Mansion**

Truman returned to the place where it all happened. He activated the Dimension Transportifier connecting to Hyrule, gazing at the pink vortex. "TRUMAN!" He turned, seeing his friends. "Truman, why are you going to Cheren's world?!" Harry asked.

"The Ring led me here!" Truman held up the golden trinket. "My destiny is there! I'm going and I don't want you to follow!"

"WHAT destiny?!" Celeste shouted. "Where's this all coming from?!"

"I should have realized it before! I was never afraid of being Delightfulized… all this time, I was denying my fate. My Delightful self was my true self all along. And my true self belongs in that world!"

"Your TRUE self belongs with US!" Melissa stated, marching up to him. "And we're taking you back-"

Truman threw his open hand at her, the ring glowing—there was a FLASH, and Melissa was turned into a card that drifted to the floor. The back of the card was brown with a black oval. The kids were struck speechless. Truman stared at his hand, then the ring. "I…I have to go. I'm sorry it has to be this way, guys… The least I can do is keep you from following. Good-bye." Truman pulled out a sack of M.A.R.B.L.E.s and threw them up before diving into the vortex.

"TRUMAN! !" The tiny explosives destroyed the Transportifier, but Truman was already gone to the parallel dimension.

Moments later, Melissa changed back to normal. "What was Truman… talking about?"

"I don't know, but we're getting him back!" Harry decided. "Let's start fixing this portal now!"

"We don't know how to FIX something like this!" Celeste argued. "Look, Cheren lives in that world, and he found a way to get here before. Maybe he'll bring Truman back to us."

"We can't wait around and hope Truman will fall from the sky like he did! There's gotta be another way…"

Melissa recalled their adventure with Cheren in attempt to find a clue. Unfortunately, the image of her kissing Cheren when they and Nerehc were drunk was still burned in her mind. …Her eyes widened: "If Truman went to Cheren's world, what about Truman's Negative?!"

 **Hyrule Dimension**

Truman fell out of the opposite end of the portal before it vanished. He walked out of the mansion, under a dark, cloudy night. _"Hah ha ha ha ha. Ahh ha ha ha ha."_ Truman looked up: a blonde-haired boy with sharp teeth and black eyes floated down. The eye-triangle on his hat matched Truman's gold ring. "Ha ha ha ha ha! Did ya miss me?"

"I…I know you." Truman glared. "Don't I?"

"Vividly." Bill Cipher smirked, pacing around him. "You existed in Termina's Egypt thousands of years ago. I manifested my image into the Egyptians' minds. They honored me like a god and created seven magical items based on my appearance. The Millennium Ring you hold is one of them. Those seven items were created to destroy YOU, the God of Darkness. Your power is on par with Demon King Demise. When you were destroyed, part of your soul was locked in the Millennium Ring… while another part was reincarnated over the ages. Your newest incarnation is Truman Kirman, and your soul was awakened when Father 'Delightfulized' you, and again when Majora took away the human soul. But deep down, you know who you are…" Bill wrapped an arm around him. "And I know, too… Zorc Necrophades."

A lightning struck in Truman's mind. A tidal wave of memories washed over him. His eyes turned malicious, and he smirked devilishly. He shared the look with Bill Cipher, his fellow demon. …Zorc punched Bill in the jaw. "You ruined my plans, you phony god!"

"It was all part of my plan!" Bill raised hands in defense. "I couldn't let you destroy the world before WE had a chance to! Don't think of it as me robbing you of your victory… but instead, think of it as me giving you a shot at a greater goal! At the end of this month, my master will return and the Thirteen Darknesses will be his allies! You can join us and have your own number of universes to rule! Doesn't that sound better?"

"Hmm… Very well. I will accept your proposal, Cipher. I suppose I owe it to Medusa, after all."

The Goddess of Darkness materialized from a portal. "Oh, Zorc! How nice to see you again. You appear _smaller_ than before."

"Funny. So do you." Zorc smirked.

"Troubles in bed." Thanatos mentioned to the readers.

"Your sense of humor is delightful as always. I'll take it from here, Bill." Medusa said.

"Until the D-Day!" Bill saluted before flying away.

"So, how much is there to do before the prophecy will be realized?" Zorc asked.

"All we have to do is wait for the Seventh Light to awaken, rescue the Darknesses from Underworld Prison… and of course, awaken the 13th and Final Darkness, Ganondorf Dragmire."

"Do you have a plan?"

"Hmm, HAH ha ha ha!" Medusa cackled. "My plan is so brilliant, I can't contain myself! We just need to ask for a little help… Sigh, I don't think Nerehc is going to like it at all."

* * *

 **With the revelation of Zorc, we officially know the identities of each of the Thirteen Darknesses. Zorc is from _Yu-Gi-Oh_ , and yes, his appearance in _Operation: MASKED_ was unknown until now. :P Xehanort and Radiant Garden are from _Kingdom Hearts_ , and… you probably know who Ford is.**

 **I don't know if this was obvious or not, but as implied by Xehanort, we will eventually FIGHT the Thirteen Darknesses. Like with previous antagonist groups in this series, until we get there, it's up to you to guess which heroes will fight which Darknesses! (Naturally, the fights won't be limited to the Seven Lights.) If you're following with the Main Story, the Battle of Enies Lobby is up next… Otherwise, the Side Stories will continue with Wendy family drama. See you then.**


	32. Mother?

**This chapter kind of corresponds with Chapter 74, regarding some inter-connecting events.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-32: Mother?_**

 **Climbers House; Facilier's Emporium**

Five days had passed since Wendy spoke with her father. While Vaati was attending to business with the White Lotus, Dr. Facilier resumed giving Wendy magic lessons. Holding a blue rubber ball in hand, Wendy focused her power and thoughts and cast Transfiguro on the ball. It morphed into a blue toad. "Only thing wrong is the color." Wendy said. "Hey Carla, maybe if I get good at this, I can turn you into a human like me!"

"It's any Familiar's honor to be their master's guinea pig." Carla remarked.

"Heh heh." Wendy blushed. "…Is your wing feeling better?"

Carla flapped both wings and lifted off the floor. "I think I'm alright. I suppose I owe Lapis my thanks. Still, I believe the more pressing concern was that display in the sky."

"I'm worried about that, too. I wish my dad would come back soon."

"Wendy, why on Earth do you want to join the Revolutionaries? You haven't even started your first year at school, you're far too young to be a war hero."

"I wasn't sure about it at first, but if my dad thinks it's best for me, maybe I should trust him. Besides, he said that I would be helping the Kids Next Door this way."

"I see. But I have to wonder what your father would have said if you refused?"

"If she did not, it wouldn't change the fact she is my daughter." Carla gasped when Vaati seemed to appear out of thin air.

"DAD!" Wendy jumped up and hugged him.

"WHERE did you come from?!" Carla shouted. "Mr. Facilier said no one could Apparate in here!"

"We Minish tend to be very stealthy." Vaati smirked. He patted his daughter's head and said, "Moving on, whether she is a White Lotus or not, I planned to teach Wendy what I know and help her become stronger. You may not think highly of me, Cat, but don't forget who enrolled Wendy into Hogwarts."

"I've been meaning to ask about that." Wendy said. "Dad, if you're a wanted criminal, how did you get them to accept me?"

"That's one of the beautiful things about that school: they don't care about a person's origin, as long as a body is brimming with magical potential, they will take it. Once they see what you can provide for them, they won't regret their decision." Vaati smiled with confidence for his daughter. "But there is still more to prepare until that day. As a future member of the Revolutionaries, I want to give you a mission."

"Absolutely! What's the mission about?"

"In Las Vegas, there is a casino called Casinopolis. It's a massive casino that draws in even the most modest of men. My spies have done recon on the facility, and have realized there is mind-control in the works. The casino lights manipulate the customers into gambling away all their savings, and it all goes to the wealthy nobles. I was never a fan of casinos, but this makes me hate them more. I would like you to find the source of the mind-control and destroy it."

"You can count on me." Wendy nodded seriously. "But, if it's okay… I want to take Carla with me. It wouldn't feel right doing a mission without her."

"Hmm… Very well." Vaati frowned slightly. "Then it's a good thing I acquired two of these." He pulled out sunglasses from his cloak. "The casino employees wear these to keep from being affected by the lights. Wear them and you'll be safe."

Carla took a pair and studied them, suspicious at this story. "You know, the last time you gave Wendy a mission, it turned out to be ludicrous and one of her friends was captured. Why should we trust your intel this time?"

"Because it's true. But rest assured, I plan to make it worth your while." Vaati smiled at Wendy. "If you complete the mission, I'll introduce you to your mother."

"Why do you need to REWARD her with that?! After all you put her through, you should let Wendy meet her mother NOW!"

"Carla, it's okay!" Wendy consoled. "I can wait a little longer until I meet my mom." She put the sunglasses on and flashed a grin. "After all, I feel lucky tonight!"

 **DNK Moonbase**

Cheren Uno and Panini Drilovsky climbed through the mirror to Nerehc's office. As if he were expecting them, Nerehc was standing there waiting. "Nerehc, we have some news." Cheren said.

"Does it have anything to do with that business in the sky?" Nerehc asked.

"You saw it, too?" Panini said with surprise.

"Yeah. I got two people who might know something about all this."

Nerehc led them to the prison wing, where the Gnik siblings sat patiently in their cell. "Egroeg, AlyakAm… are you finally ready to spill?"

"The cat is out of the bag, Alyak." Egroeg said.

"Very well, we confess." AlyakAm followed. "Yes, Nerehc. We knew about Lord English all along. Our father spoke for English, so by extension, we were his pawns as well. My father did not want anyone to speak of English until it was time, so I entrusted English's identity to Ydolem, along with the Octogan locations."

"In hindsight, it was a meaningless gesture." Egroeg continued. "There is nothing that can prevent Lord English's return."

"We _can_ prevent it." Cheren assured. "If Mr. King defeats your father, we can save everyone!"

"Even if that _were_ possible, the Apocalypse would still transpire. Without the Twenty Keys, only those under the Will of Sixes would live to see the future."

"Then we have no time to lose. Nerehc, who's the last Darkness? How do we find him?"

"You're gonna love this." Nerehc remarked. "The last Darkness is Ganondorf."

"GANONDORF?!"

"Well Cheren, you wanted an excuse to make Azelf like ya." Panini shrugged.

"But our moms destroyed Ganondorf! What are we supposed to do, bring him back?!"

"Don't ask me, ask Medusa! She's the one that's been treating us like lapdogs all month. I don't suppose you guys have any ideas."

"Afraid not, Nerry." Panini replied. "Brave little Cherry here is in the middle of planning his climactic battle against the World Government's King." She nudged Cheren's arm. "He lost the Fierce Deity Mask to that monster, so he's totally in over his head!"

"I am not! I just have to figure out the Octogan's weakness."

"HA!" AlyakAm laughed. "You are in over your head. The Octogan's power is limitless. No god in this universe can challenge it."

 _"Then we need a god not from this universe." ;;;; )_ a girl's voice said. Nerehc, Cheren, and Panini turned to find a Zoni, whose left eye had seven pupils. _"Hellooooo! I haven't seen you three since Termina."_

"Termina?" Cheren raised a brow. "You were one of those Zoni?"

 _"Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am Vriska Serket, a mem8er of the trolls, and a special friend of Majora." :::; )_

"I haven't seen Majora since January… Do you know where he is?"

 _"Majora has 8een captured and trapped in Underworld Prison, on the same floor as most of the Thirteen Darknesses. Medusa organized his 8eing there with the hopes you would attempt to rescue him, Cherry Cakes."_

"Why would I want to rescue Zanifr?"

 _"8ecause Zanifr knows a way you can overpower the Octogan. If I were you, Cherry, I wouldn't pass up the knowledge. Granted, it would be easy to tell you myself… 8ut don't you think Majora owes it to you?"_

"This sounds a little too suspicious."

 _"Think what you want, 8ut you're missing the 8ig picture here: the Thirteen Darknesses are in Underworld Prison as well, and eventually Medusa will want you to help rescue them. You might as well get started. Trust me kids, I'm on your side. I wouldn't 8e telling you this if we didn't know exactly what we were doing." :;:: )_

"What do you think, Cheren?" Nerehc asked.

The former was silent for a moment. "…Majora's the one who started all this. I think it's only fair he comes to watch the end with us. I say we go to Underworld Prison and speak with him. Him AND the Darknesses."

"You think Grim will even let us?" Panini asked.

"He doesn't have to. I know someone who can help."

 **Las Vegas**

"Call me the Gamblin' Girl!"

Wendy Marvell wore sunglasses, a black jacket, gold "$" necklace, and black leggings that went into white shoes. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she made a snazzy grin. "That outfit is positively atrocious, Child." Carla stated. "Mr. Vaati said that all you needed were the sunglasses."

"He says it's cute when I dress up! And if we're going into a casino, we can't stand out."

"You'll stand out by wrecking the place in search for a mind-control device."

"Well, now I'll do it with style."

The city was full of flashy people with money suits, gold cars, and even colorful hair, so no attention was directed at Wendy and her winged cat. "Wendy, don't you find it a bit insensitive that he's making you _earn_ the right to see your mother?"

"I like to think of it as positive reinforcement. It's better than a crummy piece of candy."

"There's just no reasoning with you, Child." Carla sighed. They stopped when they found the casino in question, labeled with big white letters. "Well, there's Casinopolis. The sooner we complete this mission, the sooner we get to meet your mother. Ready, Wendy?"

"More ready than I've ever been before!" (Play "Casino Night" from _Sonic 2 HD_!)

 _Stage B-28: Casinopolis_

 _Mission: Break the mind-control spell over the casino!_

Wendy charged through the front doors and had to sidestep various aisles of slot machines. She would soon jump on a large roulette wheel over a gold coin pit, running in place on the spinning wheel as a ball was thrown onto it. Between the three different directions marked by color, the ball landed on the "green" path to the left, so a claw grabbed Wendy and threw her that way. The path was curved like a "U" on either side as Wendy had to dodge giant pinballs rolling up and down. "Look, Carla! A giant pinball machine!" Wendy pointed with excitement.

"I have to agree with your father on one thing: this place is ridiculous! Do they think bigger is better or something?"

"I don't think that's what they were going for! Protego!" Wendy jumped down to the ball slot and encased herself in a bubble shield. "Carla, you push the buttons!"

"Are you insane, Wendy?! Ugh, the lessons that man has taught you." Carla flew to the control panel and pressed the spring button to send Wendy up and into the sloped machine. Carla had to alternate between left and right buttons to make the respective flippers keep Wendy aloft, as it seemed the top of the playfield would make the stage progress. Wendy fell into a slot machine, whose icons represented Pikmin, KND, Pokéballs, 7's, Pipo Monkeys, and 13's. Wendy got two KNDs and a Pipo, earning her 5 coins.

Wendy tried to maneuver herself as Carla bounced her up toward the top, but with all the bumpers in the way, it was an annoying and time-consuming task. Wendy fell into the slot machine and lost 3 times before Carla managed to bounce her to the top. Unfortunately, the trial was not over as Wendy was forced to roll down a great slide. Her position was recorded on a camera for Carla to see, so when the child was about to roll into a pit, Carla pressed a flipper to fling her over it.

Now on a wider path, Wendy maneuvered her ball right to hit an intangible '9'. There was a '7' on a narrow bridge between two long gaps, but she braved the danger and hit the number without falling. Wendy was rolling to a zigzaggy path with tight turns and no fencing, but there were flippers available for Carla to bounce Wendy onto the curved path. There was a hidden path under a left curve with a '5'—Carla didn't see it in time before bouncing Wendy right. The road sloped down and swerved left as Wendy kept balance within her ball, hitting a '6' on her right but missing a '4' on her left.

The slope dropped Wendy on another pinball playfield, whose only purpose was to hit the 1, 2, and 3, but since she already missed the other Bingo numbers, Carla let her roll to the bottom. The kitten flew to reunite with her owner as Wendy dispelled the shield, and they found a cage holding a Fire Soul that would open if they had passed the Bingo challenge. They continued to a large, rotating roulette wheel-like floor where Groove Guys were dancing, and had a shining glass container with little star beings in the center.

"Carla, aren't those Star Children?" Wendy recognized them from a book. "They look upset."

Carla flew over the edge to see the electrical pipe underneath the wheel. "Perhaps the Star Children are being used as a source for the hypnotism. We ought to free them, Child."

"Reducto!" Wendy cast the explosive curse on the capsule's bottom, but it backfired and blew Wendy back. "OW!" The Groove Guys took action and attacked the air mage, so Wendy blew them apart with an air gust while Carla used Torpedo Spin to knock some down. Wendy leapt around and defeated the Shy Guys with Cyclone Fists and Kicks, so the only matter remaining was the Star Children.

 _"Smash the purple spaces to free us!"_ they told her. Wendy noticed purple spaces on the roulette and proceeded to stomp them. The capsule opened and the Star Children flew free.

"That's one down." Carla said. Beyond the wheel was a pinball tunnel, which slurped the two in, passing under the casino and releasing them back in the starting room. Wendy raced back to the roulette wheel as the ball landed on the north "blue" path, so the claw threw her in that direction. A downward path led Wendy outside to a great, Golden Sea of Coins. "Don't fall in the coins, Child. According to your father's notes, the coins have a magic curse that is meant to draw out a person's greed and prevent them from wanting to leave."

"Well, if I can tread water, coins will be no problem." Wendy used her Sonic speed to dash over the Golden Sea. She avoided the people who had fallen victim and were swimming in the sea, as well as the Shy Guy pirate ships that were shooting pinball cannons and creating huge coin splashes. Wendy ran up a green path designed like a shuffleboard table and could rest without fearing the coins' spell. There was another distant platform and a Fly Guy available to jump off. Wendy was propelled and whirling through the air upon doing so, but she would sink before long, tempting Carla to grab her. There was another available Fly Guy, so she dropped Wendy on it to continue her flight to the platform.

Carla caught Wendy before she would fall again and landed her on the foothold. The following path had Limbo Guys with high, low, and medium bars. Wendy ran and tried to jump a medium bar- "Ow!" she tripped, stumbled forward, and bumped her head against a high bar, causing her to fall. Wendy recomposed and resumed, jumping the low bars while sliding under the middle and high ones. At the end, she could run off a ramp that would lead her into an enclosed area within a wall. There was another Star Child container in the center of a golden fountain.

There were Fly Guys catching coins in their buckets whenever the sprinklers erupted, and the fountain was divided in two levels. Wendy noticed three purple switches around the wall, and she would have to wait for a Fly Guy to get lined with it, use the fountain to shoot her up, and kick the Fly Guy into the switch. There was a switch level with a low fountain and two level with the high fountains, but once Wendy had them pressed, the Star Children were free.

Wendy ran across the Golden Sea to get back to the main room, but on the way she noticed more intangible Bingo chips. If she found them all scattered across the sea, she would get a Fire Soul, but this wasn't her concern at the moment. Wendy arrived in the main room and ran onto the roulette wheel once again. The ball landed on the right "red" path and the claw threw Wendy towards. She was brought outside, gaping at the marvel standing over her. "WHOA! It's a giant house of cards!"

"Be careful running up it, Child! Too much momentum will make it lose balance." Carla cautioned. Wendy ran up a sloped walkway onto the first floor of the house, and like the kitten said, the flimsy structure was wobbling. Wendy slowed to a fast-walk as she looked around, finding a stack of cards under a hole in the ceiling. She bounced off the stack quickly before Carla lifted her up through the hole. The second floor had Snipe Guys hiding in card forts with the beam of their guns sticking out. They were situated in a maze of card stacks, so Wendy needed to find ways around them.

At the end of the maze, Wendy ran up a card stairwell to the third floor, where she needed to make quick leaps over card fences. She ran while doing this so her momentum would carry her over the room quicker, and made gentle but effective leaps so as to avoid disturbing the house's balance. Carla carried her up through a hole to the roof, and a bridge of tiny cards led across to the Star Child capsule. Wendy used Reducio to shrink herself and run over the cards before her small weight would overcome them. "Couldn't you have shrunk and let me carry you up here?" Carla questioned.

"Might as well get the full experience!" Wendy resized herself once across and had to deal with three Gun Guys perched on top of card towers. Wendy cast Protego to block the bullets, got near the towers, and used Ascendio to propel herself up and Ground Pound the Shy Guys and smash their cards, hitting the purple switch underneath. The Star Children were free, and Wendy jumped to the ground around the Card Fortress to avoid toppling it.

When she ran on the roulette wheel in the main room, it was levitated upward, bringing Wendy to a new hallway. She sidestepped to avoid incoming giant pinballs, the hall sloping up until she was outside again. 40 meters over the Golden Sea, she was viewing a giant roulette wheel with a bigger shining capsule in the center. "OH YEEEAAAH!" The casino's master – a Goomba in a pink top-hat named Gamba – was dancing around the capsule. "Get your GAMBLE groove on! Well, Jirachi?! Are you IN the GAMBLE mood?!"

"I – am!" Jirachi the Star Child was dancing on a platform in the capsule, not knowing that his magic was being sapped at a slow pace. "I got, the, gamblin' GOODS!"

"IN – the – gamblin' HOOD!" Gamba sung.

"This one must be the core." Wendy observed. "Hey, if Goombas get stomped in the head, they don't die, do they?"

"No, they just get knocked out. Don't get spotted, Child."

As Wendy ran down onto the giant wheel, Gamba sang to the stage's music. _"Take me hoooome… to New Goom Cityyyy… Where the lights are flashin', guys are bashin', and girls just look so dashin'. Take me tooo the laaand… where I have a haaand… as Miiister: Gaaaamblin': Maaaaan!"_

The roulette was divided into multiple segments and had searchlights alternating between segments. Wendy ran counterclockwise around the first segment, jumping spiked tiles and halting when searchlights appeared. She stopped at a card wall that shielded her from a Snipe Guy's vision, standing back-to-back with another Snipe Guy, and both were on a purple switch. Carla lifted Wendy above to stomp down on both of them, then pressed the switch. She kept running and jumping pinballs before a spring bounced her to the second level.

"I have millions of buckers and I'm dancing!" Gamba twirled. "I have millions of suckers and I'm dancing! I got more hoc-key puckers than Kaptain Kruckers—WHY can't **I** stop DANCING?! ?" On the second segment, Wendy had to jump or duck limbo sticks, because touching them would set off the alarms. Halfway through, the sticks went in and out, requiring Wendy to watch them carefully and make the right moves. A low stick retracted above a purple switch, with only two seconds for Wendy to press it, but she did so in time to dodge the stick.

"Who's your favorite King of Shambles – Mister Gamble Man?" Gamba was unaware of the intruder running across the third segment of his wheel. "Who's the greatest King of Scambles – MIS-TER GAMBLE MAN?" Coin fountains sprung up on certain tiles and would shoot Wendy up into Gamba's line of sight. Fly Guys swooped down in attempt to lift Wendy up into his vision, but Carla quickly knocked them out when they were low enough. They soon located the third and final switch, smashing it.

Gamba jumped in fright when the giant capsule opened, with Jirachi still dancing. "WHAT?! Did somebody—" He turned around.

"HYAAAH!" Wendy leaped above and STOMPED Gamba in the head, squishing his hat.

"OOOOG!" Gamba hacked spit and fell defeated. Wendy and Carla lowered their sunglasses, taking in the sights of the City of Lights from this view, and not affected by the hypnotic casino. Both girls exchanged winks. (End song.)

"Dat dah dah, gamblin' man, BAM!" Jirachi jigged. "Huh?" He realized Gamba was knocked out, floating down to him. "Hey, what happened? Partied out?"

"You realize this person was holding you prisoner, don't you?" Carla asked.

"He was? I was wondering why he kept me in that glass." He scratched his star head and smiled sheepishly. "Ha ha ha! It wouldn't be the only time I was tricked like that. But thanks for helping me, I guess." Jirachi floated skyward. "I was heading somewhere else and got kinda sidetracked. See ya later!" He became a star and shot into space.

"So, are we done here?" Wendy asked.

"We combed the whole casino and found all the Star Children we could. We should return home before authorities arrive."

"I'm with ya. Race ya, Carla!" Wendy ran off first.

 **Climbers House**

"Heh heh heh heh…" When Wendy and Carla returned to the Climbers' basement, Vaati was on the floor, laughing at papers. "My, my… they've really outdone their selves."

"Is something funny?" Carla inquired.

"Oh, you're back!" Vaati about-faced. "I was just looking at these wanted posters." He threw a stack on the floor beside Wendy. She knelt down and founds hers among posters of other children.

"Cheren Uno? Sheila Frantic? MaKayla King? Aren't these Kids Next Door operatives?"

"It seems the Government has grown to hate the Kids Next Door so much, they marked them as criminals. It's really quite a humorous act on the Government's part. They're so close to losing, they'll try any sort of desperate maneuver. These kids have done nothing but help people, will anyone actually believe this garbage?"

"We're still trying to believe YOUR garbage!" Carla snapped. "You made a promise to Wendy, do you intend to keep it?"

"Right, the mission! Were you successful?"

"Yep!" Wendy beamed. "That casino was using Star Children to power their machines. But we saved them all!"

"They kidnapped Star Children? Those monsters…" Vaati glared. "Well, Wendy, a deal's a deal. Are you ready to meet your mother?"

"I certainly am!"

"Great! Luckily, Annie has returned from a mission of her own, that's why I couldn't introduce her sooner. But hey, the positive reinforcement helped, didn't it?"

"See, Carla? I told you." Wendy remarked.

"Ugh. Where is she?" Carla asked with annoyance.

Vaati approached the fireplace and called "Palace of Winds" as he threw Floo Powder inside. When the emerald flames ignited, Vaati stuck his head inside, telling someone to come out. He got back to his feet, and the person to climb out of the fireplace was a brown-haired woman with a green shirt and black hi-tech pants. "Wendy Marvell… meet Annie Wilconson."

Wendy was at a loss for words. She couldn't believe it was her… standing here… "Are you really my…"

"Wendy…" Annie had an emotional smile, her green eyes brimming with love for her daughter. "I haven't seen you since you were a baby… I missed you so much."

Wendy smiled as tears welled in her eyes. "MOM!" She and Annie grabbed each other in a hug. After years of loneliness and running, Wendy was finally with her whole family.

Carla stared at the warm moment. She should be happy Wendy found her family… it's the only thing Wendy's ever wanted. But Carla wasn't happy. She only felt anger and hatred, in a form she couldn't comprehend. Because she didn't understand it, she couldn't unleash it, and the anger began to grow inside. "… … Ooooh." Carla fainted.

"Carla?" Wendy turned to her friend. She released the hug and knelt down to put a hand on the kitten's head. "Carla, you're burning up…"

"What happened?" Facilier came and picked Carla up, putting one hand over her head. The cat was gasping for breath.

"I don't know… Dad, can you do something?"

"Try Reparifors. It heals ailments."

"Okay." Wendy aimed her wand at the cat. "Reparifors." A purplish-white light touched Carla's body.

"Ahh!" Carla shook. "Come back… come…come…"

Facilier raised a brow. "It looks like more than a headache…" He carried Carla to his table, and Shadow moved the crystal ball aside for him to lay her on it. "I'll try to heal her."

"Will she be okay?" Wendy asked.

"We can trust Dr. Facilier." Vaati said assuringly, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Come with us, Wendy… we have more to show you."

"I think our mother/daughter time is long due!" Annie said positively.

"But I wanted Carla to share the moment, too. I would feel bad leaving her…"

"Don't worry, Wendy." Facilier smiled. "I promise I'll help Carla, it probably ain't nothin' big. Go spend time with your family."

"Okay… Bring her back soon, Mr. Facilier." She was guided upstairs by her parents.

"Sigh…sigh…sigh…" Facilier laid a wet towel over Carla's head.

"If it were any old fever, a quick spell like what Wendy just did could fix her in no time. I think Carla's remembering somethin'. Don't you agree, Shadow?" Shadow nodded. "This requires special help…" He got his phone and dialed a number. "Heeey, Eva! It's Dr. Facilier. Is Melody around? I need to ask her a favor. …Yes, I'm in Iceland. YES, I know long-distance is expensive, just tell your daughter to come to my shop in Cleveland!"

Vaati, Annie, and Wendy entered the bathroom, which was steaming due to someone taking a shower. Vaati used airbending to clear the mist off the mirror and cast a spell to make it into a portal. "Where're we going?" Wendy asked.

"A place you've been before." Vaati answered, nudging his daughter inside.

After the parents followed and the portal vanished, the man in the shower – Fegan Floop – opened the curtain and peered around, wearing a pink shower cap. "You hear somethin'?" he asked his blue back-scrubber.

"Look, man, we gonna do this thing or not?" the scrubber asked.

"Alright." Floop closed the curtain.

 **Underworld; Castle Hell**

The demons allowed Cheren, Nerehc, and Panini to enter the royal palace. In the castle's throne room, they saw Spider Queen Velma Green resting on her ceiling web. The Arachnimorph saw the humans and descended via a web rope. "Cheren… Welcome back. My husband is in our room… he's been under the weather as of late. More than usual, of course, he seems _more_ than dead. Shall I bring you to him?"

"No thanks. We're here to see your son, actually."

"Oh, well Death is in his office. You know the way."

Cheren led his friends to a door designed like a coffin. "This isn't just any office." he explained. "It's a Supreme Leader's office. Death the Kid is the Spirit KND leader. …Panini, you stand in the middle." He moved her to said place. "Nerehc, stay on her left, pose exactly like me, show the Triforce, oh and Panini, better brush your ponytails like this." Cheren fixed her rabbit ears to bend in opposite side directions.

"Why are we doing this?" Nerehc asked.

"He likes it this way. Alright, let's go in."

The office had skull candles lined perfectly parallel on the walls, drawers and paper stacks in symmetrical position, and even the desk items mirrored one-another. The Spirit KND Supreme Leader, Death the Kid, was a black-haired boy with scowling yellow eyes, a black tuxedo and pants, and pale skin. White horizontal lines crossed around the left of his hair. His hands were folded on the desk as he observed the three humans. Panini was the most different, she stood in the center. Cheren and Nerehc mirrored each other. A Triforce mark on Cheren's left hand, one on Nerehc's right. They were…

"No, no, not perfect, not perfect at all!" Kid walked around the desk. "Look at this girl's skirt, it's a MESS, totally asymmetrical!" He indicated Pan's camouflage skirt. "Cheren, your glasses are totally different from this kid, your shirts are opposite, your EYES aren't even the same! I told you 88 times, don't approach me if you aren't going to appear presentable! Look at these candles, I designed these candles so the flames would sway _exactly_ parallel to each other, I print off backwards versions of my paperwork to lay in stacks parallel with my main paperwork, tell me you have not SEEN a more perfect office!"

"Dude, who are you to talk 'perfect', look at those lines in your hair." Nerehc pointed.

"HUU!" Death sat on the floor, hugged his knees, and looked depressed. "You're right! I'm NOT perfect! I'm a disgrace!"

"Nerehc, you hurt his feelings." Cheren said reprovingly.

"He's a nutcase." Panini remarked.

Cheren helped Kid to his feet. He passed the Spirit Leader a smirk, and Kid matched it as they locked same-size hands. "Hi, Kid. Sorry to come in unannounced."

"You're not here to ask me to join Nebula's council, are you?"

"Nah." Cheren chuckled. "Kid, do you have a record on the Underworld Prison inmates?"

"Yes, I've been keeping tabs ever since the incident last year." Kid opened a drawer on his desk and grabbed a file. "Prison escapees are a concern for we operatives as well. Who were you thinking of finding?"

"Majora."

"Yes…" Kid pulled up a paper. "The Masked Demon Majora, whose true name was learned to be Zanifr Mimchi. Showed up at Underworld Prison under mysterious circumstances on January 6."

"That was the day after I talked to him!" Cheren exclaimed. "It's… way too big of a coincidence."

"We're looking for others." Nerehc mentioned. "Do you have names like Madara Uchiha, Sōsuke Aizen, Thanos, Yellow Diamond…" He named the others.

"Yes, we have papers on those names. 'Blackbeard' Teach was freed by Goddess Medusa, there is a man named Baldy Bald in a remedial English class… However, Voldemort was not collected, and Zeref appears to be absent. Why do these names fascinate you?"

"We have a need to break into Underworld Prison." Cheren answered. "Those people down there are the Thirteen Darknesses. They're vital to the prophecy. And as for Majora… We were told he has something that can help us defeat The King."

Kid looked up in shock. "You mean The King of the World Government? He's been taking spirits using his Octogan for the past several months, tarnishing the Spirit World…"

"Well, Majora might know a way to beat him. I don't know if it's true, but we have to go down there and save the other Darknesses, anyway."

"Even so… I cannot simply allow this." Kid set the file in the middle of his desk, perfectly aligned. "As the Reaper's son, I have a duty to the Balance. This business with the Octogan and even my father's actions have done much to disrupt it. Disaster would befall us if a break into Underworld Prison created too much chaos."

"There's enough chaos with the Apocalypse happening around the corner!" Nerehc argued. "If this is our only chance at saving the universe, we have to get in there!"

"I know!" Kid yelled, irritated. "I know that it's important… but my father has grown ill, and if the worst should happen, it's up to me to preserve the Spirit World balance. This sort of thing wouldn't look good on my record."

"You know we're just going to break in there, anyway." Panini inferred. "It would be a million times easier if you help us."

"Yeah, Kid. They'd have to let YOU in." Cheren reasoned.

"Well, yes… but they wouldn't let _you_ in." Kid turned to them. "The second you're discovered, the guards will be after you."

"Then help us sneak in so we can find the Darknesses."

"Sigh… check back with me in a couple days." Kid looked away. "I want to discuss it with my operatives. Just be warned… it will be extremely dangerous."

"Then we oughta bring our own help with us." Cheren nodded.

"The other thing is Ganondorf." Kid continued. "Ganondorf is in Underworld Prison, but he's in a lower level where the Sanzu River flows. He has been completely sapped of his former power. If you intend to fish him out of the river, it will not be easy to dry him off. And frankly, I advise against it."

Nerehc stared at the Triforce mark on his hand. He felt like he knew the solution to reviving Ganondorf… and he wouldn't like it.

* * *

 **This chapter was more of a set up, but hey, baby steps until the Apocalypse, right? Next time, we're going to jump into the endgame of Augustus's story. Gamba is from _Mario Party 4_ and Death the Kid's from _Soul Eater_. Until then.**

 **…**

Scrooge McDuck decided to visit Casinopolis. Clad in his bathing suit, he sought to take a swim in the Golden Sea of Coins. He bounced on the diving board and dove headfirst. His neck bent, he gained several bruises, and blood leaked. "AAAAHH! It's not a liquid! ! It's a great many pieces of solid matter! That form a hard floor-like surface! EAAAAH!"


	33. The Ark

**Are you ready to learn why this is Noah's Arc?**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-33: The Ark_**

 **Gumdrop Cove**

It was twilight when the Marzipan Pirates returned to Gumdrop. The village was more hectic than usual—some houses were on fire and pirates were beating the sugar out of each other. "Why pirates devolve into Neanderthals?" Nel asked, riding her captain's shoulders.

"I reckon it's to do with that business in the sky."

"THE END IS NIGH!" cried Gelatin Gerald, standing on a pile of defeated Soda Pirates. "Brandon, Ay've defeated yer crew, now BUILD me a soda rocket so that I may return home- NYAR!" Augustus grabbed him off the pile.

"Gerald, where is Brandon?! I need to ask him something."

"Where ya think he is, boy, where 'e always is! Too afraid ta face me he is."

The Marzipans fought through the crowds and made it to the Soda Can, which was empty except for one person. Bubbly Brandon was at the same table he was seated at the beginning of this month, staring gat the same treasure Augustus brought him: the Everbubble Fizz. "Not feeling fizzy today, Brandy?"

"Not anymore, Augustus." Brandon replied solemnly. "I've foreseen such a cataclysm… 'twas always in me nightmares. They called me crazy, but now Ay'm the only one sane… The end of the world."

"Well, I have news, too." Augustus ejected the Lost Candies from the Infi-Cube. "I found all the Lost Candies… except for one. And it's hidden under this very island."

"Augustus… yer still fixated on such things?"

"I have every reason to be, Brandon. The Lost Candies are supposed to create a ship. A ship that's supposed to save everyone from the Apocalypse. I'm talking to you because you've been coming to this island longer than anyone. I think you have the best chance at knowing where it is."

"That don't mean a thing, boy. There be hundreds of sugar-salts on this rock. If there were a giant vessel under this island, it sure ain't noticeable. Otherwise, all the pirates would be where it is."

"I didn't say there was a giant vessel under the island."

"Y-…" Brandon was confused. "Sure ya did, you said the last candy is under this island."

"Right, but did I say it was the ship?"

"Well- I… thought the implication was…"

"Bruh, you lie worse than me." Rallo remarked.

"Brandon, I know you know where it's hidden." Augustus stated. "Why are you keeping it secret?"

"Because… that's when me nightmares started happening. I found the ship yer talkin' about… found it in me 20s. I wanted to eat every ounce of that candy. But I was so tired from the journey that I took a nap… I saw the planet collapsing, stars exploding, some wave of green mist… and that ship was sailing on by. I thought it was a bad omen… I left that cave and never came back. Never told anyone about it… but I feared the worst happening. 'Tis the very reason I sought to taste all the world's sodas, and live me life the way I wanted to."

"And where was the cave, do you remember?"

"Aye…"

Bubbly Brandon led the Marzipans to the Scarlet Licorice, where sexy female pirates came to dance. The bar was abandoned when they stepped in. "'Shame." Brandon said. "When that Sky Show took place, the lovely lady pirates suddenly had epiphanies and wanted to spend the remainder of their lives doing something more meaningful than pleasing the opposite gender. In me youth, I found the lady pirates here so beautiful that I break into this bar after hours to, eh, _nibble_ on their licorice bikinis."

"Gross!" Augustus remarked.

"Man, we the ones should be saying that." Rallo said.

"One day, I decided to play around with the poles." They stepped onto the stage with two licorice poles. "I got two Licoropes and wrapped them around the tops of either pole to practice my… acrobats."

"Acrobats?" Augustus chortled. "What, were you in the Circus Pirates?"

"No, but there was a pretty lass from that crew I… may have tried to impress. But when I did, the poles bent, the tops connected, and… Just try it, Augustus."

"Stewie, gimme yours." August requested. He roped his Licorope around the top of the left pole and roped Stewie's around the right. Using Haki strength, the captain tugged both ropes and bent the poles to touch the tips, shaping them like an archway. He unwrapped the ropes and gave Stewie's back as they stared confusedly. "I don't understand what-" Augustus walked between them and vanished.

"Captain!" Rallo and the crew gasped. Augustus's head seemed to stick out of nothingness.

"Whooooaaa!" He gaped. "You twerps gotta get in here!" The head retracted.

Exchanging frightful looks, the four children entered the invisible portal. They were taken to a vast chamber with a giant door sealed with keyhole and six small doors around the wall, equal to the number of keyholes. There was an image of an ark on the ceiling, similar to the design they saw in the Deep Cream. "These doors each hold a trial that uses one of the Candy Powers." Brandon explained. "I had to complete 'em all to see the marvel that lay behind that big door there."

"Then we know what we have to do." Augustus began his next lollipop. "Which door you kids wanna do first?" (Play "Tower of Riddles" from _Paper Mario: Thousand-Year Door_.)

 _Stage B-29: Noah's Shrine_

 _Mission: Find the sixth Lost Candy._

The Marzipans first decided to enter a door with a Pop Gum floating over it. The door led to a small room with several chocolate rocks, an available Pop Gum, and a sign in the middle. Nel chose to chew the Pop Gum while her captain read the sign.

 _Save the stones with taste._

 ** _Where shall the worlds go._**

 _The tasteless stone must break._

Before shooting Nel's gum, Augustus walked around and tasted each of the chocolate rocks. While all the same color, they each tasted different, from milky chocolate, nutty chocolate, dark chocolate, minty chocolate… One of the stones tasted like mud, nearly making him puke. He destroyed that rock with the Nel Launcher. "Aye, ya did it, boy!" Brandon called. "One of the keyholes be glowing!"

Indeed, one of the holes on the central door glowed, and was in the respective location of the room they completed. Next, the kids entered a door with a Bounce Gum. There was a central cyan switch and various puddles of colored Kool-Aid around the wall. The sign read:

 _Colors surround us._

 ** _But they all share one sky._**

 _Combine and taste their flavor._

Augustus sat on the Bounce Gum, drenched it in the blue Kool-Aid, then the green to make cyan, pushing the same-colored switch. The switch became magenta, so the captain bounced in purple and pink Kool-Aid. Afterwards, it wanted brown Kool-Aid, which Augustus got by combining yellow with orange, then red. When the switch was hit the third time, another keyhole glowed. Next, they entered the Fudgepuffsicle room. There was a spiked floor and ceiling, and a licorice rope-lever in one corner. (Candy corn spikes, of course.)

 _Believe in your friends._

 ** _And the gods that protect you._**

 _Let them guide you._

As expected, Augustus would have to eat the Puffsicle and let Nel ride him. The bloated boy maneuvered toward the switch while Nel made light jumps to keep from sinking him in the spikes or letting him float too high. When they got to the lever, Nel kept Augustus under her while she grabbed the rope in her teeth and pulled it down with her weight. Augustus barely touched the floor spikes when the switch fully hit. They made their way to the start as August deflated. A keyhole was glowing.

"I actually cheated that one." Brandon mentioned. "Burped me a mighty big soda bubble, I did."

The crewmates entered the Shrink Sweet room, which had three tiny holes in the opposite wall.

 _The right road to take._

 ** _The smallest survives._**

 _Which is the road to light?_

Augustus held Maggie up to peep into each of the holes, and she confirmed the left one was safest. Augustus ate the sweet and shrunk as Maggie put him in her slingshot. She carefully aimed at the little hole and flung him through. Augustus bounced on a marshmallow over a dark pit and landed on a safe foothold. There, he could eat a Growth Gum to stretch back to normal and press a switch. He climbed a ladder to a walkway above the room to return to the side with his friends. The next room utilized Rock Candy. It was a humongous room that consisted of a racetrack swirling down.

 _Life is an endless loop._

 ** _The universe begins and ends._**

 _Know where it stops._

Augustus encased in the Rock Candy and began rolling down the swirling, whirling path. The four kids felt dizzy while watching him, especially when he seemed to come down from the top after going down. Indeed, Augustus was trapped in an endless loop, but the captain was probably too dizzy to realize that. There was a floating pink switch between two loops, and it was lined up with a part on the opposite side. "Augustus, jump when the pink thing is above you!" Stewie yelled.

Augustus saw what he was referring to. When he was aligned, he pushed up and caused the Rock Candy to jump, hitting the switch and bouncing back to the start with a marshmallow. The sixth door they had to complete was the Fizzy Lift Soda. It took place in a breezy room over a dark pit, with a Red, Green, Blue, and Dark Chuchu bubble floating around. There was a gray Tongue One on the other side.

 _He who hungers for strength._

 ** _Beware the enclosing darkness._**

 _With a heavy heart, he swallows._

None of the Chuchu matched the Tongue One's color. However, there was a ray of light poking in from the corner near the entrance. Augustus pushed the Dark Chu to the light and turned it to stone. He quickly grabbed the round stone, which nearly weighed his floating body into the pit. He struggled to carry the stone to the Tongue One and set it in its mouth. _"THAAAAANK YOOOOOU."_

With the six trials completed, the great door opened, shaking the cavern in the process. "Ya did it, mates! The door is open!" Brandon called. "The ship not be far now."

"Sweet!" Augustus dropped his lolli stick. "Let's go, team." The passage took them down a zigzaggy cave dripping soda from the light-brown stalactites. They came to a tall wall with a cinnamon path, making use of their Corn-Clamber Boots. At the top, they were taken to an extremely vast room of the cave, most of switch was occupied by a terrific mass. The five pirates gaped.

It was a gargantuan ship designed like an ark with an orange body, some yellow stripes, blue wings, and a gold central house on the deck. It had to be as big as an island. It was impossible to believe something as enormous as this was hidden under Gumdrop. "You've finally made it." A tiny, childish voice said. The kids were so busy looking up, they didn't think to look down and see the Sugar Fairy with mean purple eyes.

"Princess Zeira…" Augustus said. "Why couldn't you have told me about all this before? About the Apocalypse?"

"The World Government is against the Twenty Keys Prophecy and anything that references it. If you were seeking the Lost Candies with knowledge of the Apocalypse, Lord Licorice would have been tempted to kill you more. Besides… the news of the Apocalypse has struck fear in the hearts of many. I didn't want that fear to drive you. Instead, what you had was a desire to grant someone's dying wish… that pure-hearted nature was what drove you."

"Did it occur to you that I might've worked FASTER knowing the world was at stake?! That I could be saving billions of lives besides Luviro's?"

"Perhaps, but sometimes faster is not better. But it doesn't matter now. Finally, the six Lost Candies are here. We can revive the Gummi Ship, Noah."

"The _Noah_? Like Noah's Ark?"

"Exactly. The same way Noah's Ark was to protect the animals from the floods, the Gummi Ship _Noah_ is meant to save the universe's population from the Apocalypse."

"The _entire_ universe? It's big and all, but I don't even think it can hold the entire world. How is it supposed to work?"

Zeira floated up to the teen's face, glaring cutely. "How do _you_ think, big guy?"

"Um…" August felt like he should know, yet he didn't.

Zeira jumped away. "However, it won't function without the powers of the Lost Candies. Bring them inside quickly. I have already placed the Sugar Fuel in its rightful place. If you're smart, figure out where the others go." She flew inside the ship.

"Alright." Augustus began his next lollipop. "Let's find a way inside."

An invisible force appeared to be keeping the vessel propped up, giving them room to run underneath. They saw a Sugar Fairy floating near one side of the ship, and when they ran toward it, the fairy flew up into a window several feet above. "Maggie, you wanna get in there and look for somethin'?" The baby nodded and shot her grappling hook to lift her up into the window.

She was in a room with a candy corn spike floor, and across it was a lever. Maggie her grappling hook to the lever and flipped it. Outside, the Marzipans heard a _CRASH_ , looking left to see an anchor drop from a hatch near the front. "MAGGIE, there's an anchor!" Augustus called for the baby to come down. The crew rushed over to the anchor and stared up at the hatch.

"This looks much too small to actually hold a ship this massive in place." Stewie observed.

"Yeah, it's like they set up these puzzles on purpose. Nel, you're small enough, climb up there and find a ladder to throw down or something."

"Eyes, Aughsucks!" Nel responded before climbing the anchor's chain.

"It's just 'Aye', Nel."

The cavegirl climbed into a rather tight room of the ship, which led to a corridor with a java pit below. Nel could sidle along a horizontal pipe on her right, then jump to a left pipe when it ended. Nel set foot on the other side and up some chocolate-bar stairs. The following passage led across a java river, where Nel had to jump floating marshmallows that would sink under her weight. Nel then had to swing three hanging Licoropes that would quickly collapse before landing at the base of another stairway. They led to a hall, where the left route leaded further in the ship, while the right route led to a sealed door.

Nel approached the door and stepped on a switch beside it. The door opened, giving Nel view of her crew down below. A mechanical ladder also lowered from the entrance. "AUGHSUUUUCKS!" She waved for their attention.

"Hey, great job, Nel! Time to see what this baby's like on the inside." The crewmates climbed into the ship as Nel took her place on her captain's shoulders again. They followed the passage to a massive room whose floor was messy with rotten sugar piles and giant Life Savers lain around. On their right, there were two staircases leading up to a higher floor, but there was a sealed garage door between those stairs labeled _Generator_.

Augustus knocked on the garage door and stuck his Haki hands underneath to try and lift it. He could only lift it slightly, but Stewie took the Infi-Cube and crawled underneath. There was a machine with a glass case and a circular space in its center. Stewie got the Cupcake Core out of the cube and placed it in the space. There was a big green button on a panel on the left, and when Stewie pressed it, the chamber sparked to life and began absorbing the cupcake's energy.

The door to that room opened, and the pirates gaped when the Life Savers floated in the air, and everything brimmed to life. From the top of the twin stairs, one of them could jump to a small Life Saver that floated to and fro. Stewie had the honors of jumping on and making leaps to the following floating Life Savers. They led to a platform hanging on a wall with several nuts and bolts. There was a large, central peg where a nut could be screwed in, and what better fit than the Rock Nut.

When Stewie twisted it in, the Rock Nut sent some kind of energy glow across the structure of the ship. The crewmates entered a door above the stairs, leading to a room with multiple gears. One of the central pegs was empty, so Augustus took the liberty of putting the Gear Heart there. The gears still weren't spinning, but with a few tremors from Rallo's boombox, the Gear Heart pumped to life and began endlessly spinning the system.

The following door led to a chamber of giant gears, leading to an area where the Sun Key would go. Nel bit the Sun Key in her teeth and hopped up some vertical gears, ducked to avoid being crushed by the point in an above gear, then jumped to grab a rotating chain. She dropped on a flat gear, then jumped three hollow gears with Amps floating around them. She then had to Wall Jump between two stacks of small gears, and at the top, she jumped more vertical gears that each had only one spot for her feet. With her excellent platforming, she got into the control chamber and stuck the Sun Key in the keyhole.

The _Noah_ shook harder when all the Lost Candies were in their rightful places. A pathway stretched from the control area down to the other crewmates, allowing them to regroup with Nel. _"The ship is fully powered. Meet us up on the bridge."_ Zeira's voice said through the PA.

From the control room, the pirates crossed a hallway and passed a vacant room that had an illusion of space. After going up a few stairs, they found their selves at the deck of the ship, where Bubbly Brandon had been brought by the fairies. Augustus approached Zeira and asked, "It's certainly big, but how is it gonna get out of here?"

"Don't underestimate the power of the Lost Candies. BEGIN LIFT-OFF!" (End song.)

The pirates took cover inside the gold house when the ship trembled with power. It felt as if the entire earth quaked when the ship burst up through the ceiling and flooded ocean water into the cave. Everybody on Gumdrop Cove fell off their feet when the titanic vessel lifted up into the sky.

When the trembling subsided, the pirates stepped outside and looked over the railing. The view of the briny sea was astounding, and as the ship steadily ascended, they would soon see the entire planet. "Wow… Imagine the look on Mom's face when I bring _this_ home." Augustus remarked.

"I'm afraid I will have to deny you the chance."

The pirates whipped around and found Lord Licorice, Mandy McKenzie, Azula, and Blackberry Guards. "LICORICE! Where did you come from?!"

"We've been camouflaged in the dark sky all along, stupid boy." Licorice said, holding his gun ready. "With all the Lost Candies, we knew it was only a matter of time before you awakened the _Noah_. But instead of ambushing you and taking the Lost Candies, we thought it far better to let you do with you must… so we may put this vessel to better use."

"Oh yeah?" Augustus took out the lolli stick and dropped it over the edge. "And what better use is that?"

"Destroying Kids Next Door Moonbase, of course! King Andrew claims that those meddlesome brats are holding the Seven Lights up there, safe from their grasp. Our only chance to stop the prophecy is to destroy them in one fell swoop. Using the power of this indestructible _Noah_ , I will be the man that ended the Twenty Keys Prophecy! Meanwhile, you five will be the sad little pirates who failed to stop me, and jumped over the edge in despair."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because if you don't," replied Mandy, "we'll feed your Sugar Fairy friend to Azula." She revealed the butterfly net and the helpless Zeira squirming inside.

"Didn't you learn your lesson from last time?" Augustus asked Azula.

"I remember what happened." Azula replied with a snarl. Her eyes were still red from crying all month. "And I learned something: when I feel sad, when I cry… a new fire burns inside me. A fire that burns from pain… and I _love_ feeling that way. I want to cry more… so I can BURN more!" She combusted with sapphire flames.

"Not now, dearest!" Licorice cautioned. "So, what will it be, Marzipans? Are you going to jump, or let your fairy die?"

Augustus glanced over the edge. He stared at his crewmates and nodded assuringly. "You win, Licorice. I guess we just weren't good enough. Come on, kids. Together!" He picked the four kids up and leapt backward. Licorice and Mandy stared over the railing, but saw only open sea.

"I say… they fall fast." The Candy Lord observed.

"Indeed, too fast." Mandy agreed. "But what can you do about juniors. Speaking of which:" She kicked Licorice off his feet and pinned his chest under her foot.

"GYAH!" Licorice yelped when she tipped a sword to his neck. "What are you doing?!"

"Surprise, surprise." Mandy said sarcastically. "I'm double-crossing you." Behind her, Moblin and Fatblin had climbed onboard and were attacking the Blackberries. "A ship with this size and power will make the Boogey Pirates invincible. Could use a paint job, of course. I'm not sorry to say I'm putting you out of commission, Licorice."

"N-Now now, Mandy." Licorice said nervously. "Perhaps we can sit down and talk about this! Or better yet, you can GO down!" He sunk into the deck.

Mandy, Azula, and the demons were immediately grabbed in cocoons from the ship's gummy deck. Azula was unable to burn it and Mandy couldn't phase out. "What in the world is this?!"

 _"Myah hah hah hah ha ha!"_ Lord Licorice emerged in the form of a candy monster. _"Marvelous! My powers work on this vessel after all! And how convenient, even a Logia's power is useless against it."_ He squeezed the demons into darkness. _"Men! The collars! I'll hand these pirates to King Andrew personally."_

The Blackberries placed chi-blocking collars over Mandy and Azula. Violet Beauregard dropped down from the Cinnamon Ships and kicked the women down. "Lord Licorice wants the _Noah_." Veruca Salt smiled eerily, surrounded by her gas cloud. "He wants to destroy the Kids Next Door. He wants to be rid of all you pirates."

 _"Our next stop is Kids Next Door Moonbase."_ Lord Licorice faced the half-moon in the distant sky. _"After this, no one will ever doubt the power of candy! King Andrew… will be pleased."_ The _Noah_ turned under his power and set course for the Moonbase.

The Marzipan Pirates landed on a small Cinnamon Ship piloted by Penelope Mousse. "You came unusually quickly." Augustus remarked.

"I _may_ have put a tracker on your neck and followed you from far away." the mouse Mobian replied. "I hope that doesn't violate our parley."

"I'll overlook. Speaking of which, where is Captain Stag?"

"I don't appreciate being called that, boy!" Captain Slag flew up on a large hoverbike fit for his fat body. His twin Rusty Petes rode with him, and many other Slag Pirates had their own bikes. "So, this be the legendary treasure you journeyed far and long for. A ship o' that size and beauty will be perfect in destroying the World Government!"

"We'll discuss details later. We can't let Licorice get to Moonbase!"

"Guys, I think some people are already ahead of us!" Penelope pointed. (Play "Hag 1" from _Banjo-Tooie_!)

 _Boss fight: Lord Licorice_

Azula's airships and the Hook Pirates' flying ships were being bombarded by the Noah's cannons. "OI! Give us back the captain!" Creeper yelled from the lead airship. "Fire Slugs, melt that behemoth!" A bottom hatch opened and dropped 500 Fire Slugs on the Noah. Veruca took cover from the monsters as they puffed flames, but Licorice simply forced points to jab out around the ship and push them off. _"MWAH HAH HA! Do you fools not know what 'indestructible' means?!"_

"What kind of weird super power is that?!" Penelope questioned.

"It has to be the Candy-Candy Fruit!" Augustus realized. "I remember Big Mom saying that she sent samples of her DNA to Caesar to make a Devil Fruit out of them. I guess Lord Licorice managed to steal it, too. Big Mom was so mad, she ate the Gingerbread Village."

"If I can get Licorice in range, perhaps I can neutralize the power." Stewie said as he readied his Neutralizer.

"Great idea. Penelope, fly higher." The mouse girl did so, putting Licorice's monster form in their view. While the beast was swatting at some flying Hook Pirates, Stewie locked on and fired the Neutralizer. _"BYAAAAH!"_ Licorice sunk into the deck, and the ship halted without his control.

"Now's our chance, let's land and attack them!" Augustus declared. Penelope stomped the gas and flew above the _Noah_ 's deck, the Marzipans dropping down. They faced Veruca, Violet, and Mike Teavee with battle-ready expressions.

The three henchmen turned when the control room's entrance opened and Lord Licorice stepped out. The Candy Lord tossed a bubblegum in his mouth, chewed, and stretched a long, whip-like gum to grab Augustus's legs and throw him and Nel onto the control room's roof. "Take care of the larvae." Licorice ordered. Veruca jumped to grab Stewie, Violet caught Maggie, and Mike caught Rallo before they fell into individual trapdoors.

"Ow…" Augustus helped himself up. Nel was flattened by him from the impact, the cavegirl unconscious. "Nel, are you alright?!"

"It's cute that you're concerned for that outdated piece of trash." Lord Licorice climbed onto the roof. "That's what you'll be soon enough."

"You know, I kind of guessed you would betray the other pirates… but why the Kids Next Door? Why the Seven Lights? Do you want the Apocalypse to happen?!"

"I serve only King Andrew. I owe him everything. Everybody mocked my family for our candy heritage, but he believed in me. He gave me a chance to be feared respected. I will prove his trust in me by destroying all his enemies with this beauty!"

"King Andrew is _wrong_ , Licorice. The Sky Show made it sound like he's being controlled by that 8-ball thingy. This ship could save everyone, Licorice, you have to realize that!"

"I won't let a junior Candy Pirate order me! My faith is in King Andrew, and with this ship, I will be the most powerful force in his ARMY!" He lashed four Licoropes from under his armor. Augustus dodged and slashed his cutlass, but it flew out of his hand and into Licorice's. "Your friend's little toy weakened my control on this ship, but my Candy-Candy Fruit isn't neutralized, yet. You stand no chance against me!" He shot two bullets that Augustus dodged, but Licorice commanded them to come back and hit the boy's arms.

"YOWCH!" Augustus grabbed the right arm's wound. The wind from the moving ship made him fall to his knees due to this unstable position.

"You only looked formidable next to your monstrous grandmother, boy, but you're nothing without-"

"AYAAAAAA! !" Henrietta Fizzuras rammed the Ace Flyer against Licorice's head, knocking him down to the deck.

"MOM?!" exclaimed Augustus.

"DAMMIT, BOY, I can accept you keeping a cavegirl as your pet, but VHERE did you expect to hide THIS PIECE OF JUNK?!"

"It's not junk, Mom, it's important!"

"Oh, I don't vant to hear it right now!" Henrietta landed on the deck and raised her sword at Licorice. "Nobody hurts my boy except ME, arschloch!" Licorice easily dodged her swings and willed the Candycane Cutlass up at her neck, but Henrietta used Haki to keep it away.

Augustus chucked his Gobstopper at the Candy Lord's head, giving Heinie the chances to slice him. "Aughsucks, you're hurt!" Nel yelled after recovering.

"Nel, go inside and look for Zeira. She can heal me." The cavegirl nodded and pranced inside the ship on all fours. Augustus withstood the pain in his arms and bounced the Gobstopper in his hand. "Are you ready for a taste of Marzipan, Licorice?"

"Cough, cough!" Stewie Griffin was trapped in a gas cloud created by Veruca Salt. The Metahuman Neutralizer turned to rust, much to his horror.

"I want you to suffocate in here." Veruca told him creepily. "I want you to turn into dust. My Rot-Rot Fruit allows people to age. The more they age, they ROT."

"Cough!" Stewie studied his hands. They were still baby-like and unchanging. He smirked. "Do your powers effect chronologically frozen infants, perhaps?"

"What?!" Veruca spun a cloud around Stewie. "No! I want to turn you into dust! Why don't you do what I want?!"

"Because _my_ show has been rotting for years already!" Stewie stretched his Hulk arm and grabbed Veruca, slamming her back-and-forth around the floor. The rotten child was quickly knocked unconscious, her gas cloud fading away. "I'm not going anytime soon."

Maggie Simpson blasted homing bullets at Violet Beauregard, but even the bullets that never miss could not strike the nimble target. "What's wrong, baby? Your master eyesight can't keep up with my flexibility?"

Maggie glared murderously and whipped out a pink bubblegum – in actuality, a Bounce Gum. Maggie shot it at Violet, who dodged as the gum exploded behind and clogged that part of the hall. Violet leapt over and punched Maggie to the floor. She recovered in time to see her escape down a left hall, so she shot a Bounce Gum to the right to clog it up.

The opposite hall turned right at the end, and Maggie saw Violet clinging to the ceiling close by. The henchgirl quickly kicked Maggie against the wall and crawled away, but the baby shot another Bounce Gum ahead to block her path. Maggie shot bullets that Violet still dodged, and when the baby got closer, Violet jumped over and ran back the way they came. Violet was forced to head into the original hall with gum blocking the other. Unfortunately, gum prevented her escape here, too, and Maggie shot another Bounce Gum to trap her in place. _"HEY! Let me out of here, you little brat! !"_

Maggie pulled her binky out and said, "Start chewing, bitch."

Rallo ducked under a classroom desk to hide from a group of zombies. "Come on, man, _Zombie High_ ain't somethin' a 5-year-old should watch! Please change the channel to _Class of 3000_."

 _"We can't leave now! This is the part where the zombies eat the little kid's brain."_ Mike's voice echoed.

"AAAAH!" The zombies threw aside his desk, missing Rallo as he sprinted toward the hallway. His efforts were fruitless as zombies in school uniforms surrounded him from both directions. "No, please!" Rallo ducked in fear. "I need my brain! I can't even count to 11! My head's as good as a-!" He just remembered: "Duh." Before a zombie could snack on his afro, he revealed his stereos. He turned them up to full blast and quaked the digital television world.

Outside, the stereos of the HD TV caught fire and burned the whole device. Rallo and Mike were forced out. "I don't got time for you, Teavee!" Rallo blasted a swarm of music notes to knock Mike out. "My captain needs me!"

Nel located a storage room where Mandy and Azula were chained to pipes. "Oh, it's Augustus's new pet." Mandy remarked. "Do us a favor and bite these chains off."

"Up here!" Zeira's butterfly net was hung on a wall. "Hurry and save me!"

"Pupils!" Nel responded, bumping the wall headfirst to make the net fall. The cavegirl tore it open with her teeth and freed Zeira. "Aughsucks need help!"

"I'm on it. And it's 'aye', by the way."

Lord Licorice made a cloud of Pop Gums circle above before sending the explosives to rain upon Henrietta, who dodged in a tap-dance fashion. Augustus tossed his Gobstopper at him, but Licorice caught it in midair, and pelted the sphere between the mother and son's stomachs. During one comeback, Augustus grabbed the ball and was thrown against his mother. "I'm through wasting time with you so-called pirates!" Licorice stomped his foot to sink into the vessel, then grabbed the deck in his fingers.

Augustus and Henrietta slid toward the back when the _Noah_ shifted angle and faced the moon, shaking as energy charged in the engines. "I'll drive this ship so fast through Moonbase, they'll never see it coming! GAAAAH!" It shook forcefully under an unseen force. "What's happening now?!"

"By Electro!" exclaimed Captain Slag. "It be the giant Kremling, K. Lumsy!"

"K. Lumsy?!" Augustus whipped around. The giant Kremling was flying with a pair of white, glittery wings.

 _"Pwetty fairies tell me friends in trouble. K. Lumsy gonna protect friends."_

 _"Because the power of friendship is sweeter than any sugar!"_ declared the Sugar Fairies that composed his wings.

"Augustus, we have to defeat him now!" Zeira flew out of the ship and used glittery bubblegum to patch the captain's wounds.

"Not vithout me!" Henrietta grabbed Lord Licorice around the neck.

"Rock on, Mom!" Augustus hardened his fists like stone and repeatedly punched Lord Licorice's face.

"NNN!" Henrietta kicked the Candy Lord to his front. "You're not getting out of punishment, boy!"

"I'll take that CHANCE!" Augustus stomped the lord's head with an Armament boot and knocked him clean out. The _Noah_ was free from his control. (End song.)

 _"YAHOOOO!"_ The Rusty Petes cheered for the Marzipans as they and Slag boarded the Gummi Ship. _"Augustus-gustus, he's the man, if he can't do it, perhaps Slag could have!"_

"Oh ho ho, I admit, 'twas a festive display." Slag laughed. "But we have a parley to complete. This ship be OURS now, Augustus!"

"What do you mean yours?!" Mandy and Azula appeared, with the latter holding Nel by the ankle. "I didn't waste a month working with that clown to let YOU take this ship!"

"You blokes have enough in your arsenal!" Captain Hook and Mr. Smee landed on deck. "Give the Hook Pirates a fighting chance, why don't ye?! I'll fight ye BOTH for this delicious vessel!"

"NONE OF YA are getting the _Noah_!" Bubbly Brandon declared. "It belong to Captain Augustus! He's the one who earned it. He and his crew braved all the trials to find the Lost Candies."

"You think I'm going to let some junior pirate captain the Noah?" Mandy said.

"You don't get to decide that, _Mandy_." Henrietta stated imposingly. "I'm his mother, so _I'll_ deal the necessary scolding." She turned to her son and demanded, "Augustus, vhat the HELL do you plan to DO with this freaking ship?!"

"Save everyone from the Apocalypse!"

Heinie's eyes widened. "Ze… Apocalypse?"

"This _Noah_ has the capability to save everyone from the universe's destruction." Zeira reasoned. "You all know what is to come. And frankly, none of you deserve to captain the _Noah_."

"And we're to entrust the duty to him?!" Captain Hook shouted. "Big Mom's grandson?"

"Will you stop calling me 'Big Mom's grandson'?!" Augustus argued. "I'm Augustus the Stone Fist! I'm not the one who did all those things to you, Big Mom did! I'm my own pirate and I have my own crew. And I went on this entire adventure for YOUR sake!"

"OUR sake?" Azula questioned.

"If this ship can save everyone from the Apocalypse, then it can save you guys, too. What's going to happen if the world ends? No more sailing, no more competing, no more treasure, no more adventure… but with this ship, we can keep doing what we love. All I ask is that you let me lead you for just a little bit. Let me lead you to the New World… and you can skewer me later."

Silence followed for a few minutes. In truth, they all feared the Apocalypse and none knew what to do. "Very well." Mandy finally spoke. "I'll let you have the glory of piloting this rust bucket. But… where do we go, exactly?"

"That… is a good question. Where do we go, Zeira?"

"First, let's make a quick stop." Zeira glanced at Lord Licorice.

 **KND Moonbase**

"CHEREN!" Larry MayHence called. "You gotta see this!"

"WHAT the-?!" Francis gaped.

"It's… AUGUSTUS!" Panini screamed.

The tremendous Gummi Ship casually sailed by the treehouse's glass window. Augustus waved at all the gazing operatives, slurping a new lollipop. "What's up, kids?! I brought you a little present!" A cannon shot a tied-up Licorice, Mike, Veruca, and Violet through their window. "You might wanna lock 'em up somewhere! I'll see you on D-Day!" The ark sailed to the stars.

"What… the heck has he been doing all month?" Cheren asked.

"I dunno." Sheila said. "But it looks WAY cooler than what I've been doing."

* * *

 **I've had the plan for Noah's Ark a while now. Anyway, this concludes Augustus's story arc. Next time, we will conclude Wendy's story… as far as these Side Stories go.**


	34. Windy Marvel

**This chapter is the longest in the Side Stories, for certain reasons. It's the climax of Wendy's story arc.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-34: Windy Marvel_**

 **Outside Facilier's Emporium**

Melody Jackson was told by her mother to come to Dr. Facilier's shop. On the morning of May 22, Melody arrived in Cleveland and knocked on the alleyway door. She waited 10 seconds before the doctor answered. "Glad you could make it. Come in." he told her in a whisper.

Melody didn't visit the shop often, but it was different from what she remembered. There was snow outside a window. "Mom said you were calling from Iceland…"

"I had to relocate. Melody, I need you to take a look at something on the table."

Her eyes directed at the table. They brimmed with curiosity at the sight of the winged kitten, panting hoarsely. "Awww… what happened to this kitty?"

"She suddenly developed a fever. I know you have healing powers, so I was wondering if you can help her."

"I can try, but you should've asked for Haruka, too."

"I don't think it's something Haruka could help with. Your waterbending will do."

"Okay…" Melody bent water over her hands and used Healing Touch on Carla's head.

"OOOH." Carla moaned, seemingly in pain, so Melody loosened the touch.

"Uh-oh, did it hurt?!" Melody asked.

"No, just keep at it." the doctor instructed.

"If you say so…" Melody resumed healing despite the creature's moans.

 _Carla was lost in a murky sea, the thick water blinding her sight and blocking her breath. Melody's touch washed the murk away, and through it she could see a black figure with a red eye. The image dissolved, and blackness engulfed her. The only visible thing was a baby with deep blue hair._

"NO, DON'T!" Carla shot up, scaring Melody into releasing.

"Holy cow, it talks!" the girl exclaimed. "Boy, do I have an interview!"

"Carla, what's wrong?!" Harvey asked.

"I…" She put a paw to her head. "I…I feel like I know who Mr. Vaati is…"

"You mean you've met him before?"

"I don't know… but when I think of that man, I only feel anger… and when I think of Wendy, I feel concerned…!" She gasped. "Where are they now?!"

"Vaati and Annie took her to the Negaverse. I reckon they're going to meet their opposites."

Carla panted. "I wish I could remember where I've seen him… why I hate him so much…"

"You know, maybe I can bring one of the timebenders." Melody suggested. "Miyuki mentioned having the power to see into the past. She can examine Carla or something."

"Then go get her." Facilier agreed. "We might be able to finally crack the mystery on where Carla came from."

 **Negaverse;** **Naihcalappa Mountains**

Vaati Apparated Annie and Wendy in front of a house within a mountain range. "Ulp…" Wendy clenched her stomach. "Dad, I forgot to mention this… but Apparating makes me sick."

"Heh heh heh! It's not for everyone." Vaati chuckled. "Usually, I prefer flying, but we are late for a meeting." The Minish led Wendy to the house and knocked.

"Dad, I think I recognize this place. It was from a dream."

"You know what they say about dreams and reality." As he spoke, the person to answer the door was a girl with blue eyes who looked like Wendy's twin.

Both girls gasped. "Wendy!" the twin exclaimed.

"Do I… know you?"

"I'm Ydnew! We met back in Christmas, remember?!"

"EDNEW?!" Wendy gasped. "I-I thought you were a dream!"

"Ydnew here is your Negative." Vaati explained. "She is connected to you as your 'other half.' Everyone in our universe has an opposite. Her father and I staged the two of you meeting."

"I see you've finally made it." Itaav came to the door. He smiled at his Positive's daughter. "Hello, Wendy! Nice to see you again."

"You were real all along!" Wendy grabbed Ydnew in a hug. "I'm so happy, you were REALLY watching after me all this time!"

"I'M real, too!" They looked up at a red blob with a face hanging from the ceiling above the door.

"AIE!" Wendy jumped back. "What is that?!"

"Wendy, this is Yeoj." Ydnew sighed in aggravation. "He's our pet… somewhat. Super useful, but super annoying."

Yeoj turned into a slinky with muscular arms of a superhero. "And also toying."

"MY TURN TO PLAY!" Nil Gnofieb snatched the toy.

"Nil, I told you it's a person!" Niyus grabbed and tugged on it.

"Heh heh! We really have a lot in common." Wendy laughed. The two reminded her of her own sidekicks.

"Red Eye, everyone is waiting downstairs." Itaav said.

"Right. Come, Wendy, we can't keep them waiting." The group entered the house as Itaav led them all down a basement.

"Who are we meeting?" Wendy asked.

"Before I came, your father asked me to gather the White Lotus members and bring them down here." Annie explained. "Of course, Vaati didn't plan to start this meeting without you. I'm glad you can finally be part of it, Wendy."

"I am, too. I just wish Carla and Dr. Facilier could come…"

"You'll have time to fill them in afterward." Vaati replied, frowning at the mention of her.

The basement was a wide, round room consisting of a table with a big, black-and-white lotus symbol. The respective members were on opposite sides. "Wendy, meet the Black Lotus." Itaav introduced. "Raseac Atnalamid the Plant Master, Hpot Gnofieb the Shadow Master, Atteirneh the Poison Master (our newest member filling in for her late mother), Imorih Atoihs the Earth Master, Yevrah Reilicaf the Spiritual Master, and my wife, Einna." There was a chubby woman in an orange shirt that looked like Annie. Said woman shirked at her Negative's appearance.

"Is that Dr. Facilier's Negative?" Wendy noticed. "He looks-"

"Very Christiany, compared to his Positive."

"At least I ain't one of the crazy ones!" Yevrah shouted.

"Now meet the White Lotus." Vaati proceeded. "The Sword Master, Rachel Uno, Shadow Master Danika York, Psychic Master Mikaela Chariton, Fire Master Fanny Drilovsky, Earth Master Angie McKenzie, Poison Master Matt Dimalanta, and Water Master Eva Jackson."

"Where's Dr. Facilier?" Eva asked. "I wanted him to tell me what was up with the late-night call."

"He's tending to other business. Wendy, these people are the parents of Kids Next Door operatives, and former operatives themselves. Rather exemplary ones at that."

"So, you're the blue-haired girl Cheren mentioned before." Rachel recognized.

"You're Cheren's mother?" Wendy asked. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Okay, let's get this meeting underway." Itaav said hastily. The two leaders took seats beside each other with their daughters on their other side. Both pairs mirrored each other.

"As you may know, I have called this meeting regarding the vision in the sky." Vaati began. "It seems our worst fears have been realized. And like I suspected from the very beginning, the World Government Leaders have been acting as puppets. I have no doubts they will try to destroy the Kids Next Door and stop this prophecy. That is why we must aid the Kids Next Door and invade Mariejoa to stop them."

"My son was planning to face The King of the World." Rachel mentioned. "I didn't tell him this, but I was concerned if he could pull it off. How do we stop the Octogan?"

"Do not underestimate the Kids Next Door. They have in their arsenal the Ten Firstborn, do they not?"

"You expect to ask the Kids Next Door to use the Firstborn as weapons?" Itaav questioned.

"Is that not what Rachel, Danika, and their friends did?" Vaati inquired. "Twenty years ago, they fueled their selves with the Firstborn's power and defeated Arceus. Surely, their children can do the same and overpower the Octogan."

"You're betting everything on the Kids Next Door and the Firstborn?" Raseac asked. "If it _were_ that easy, what was the point of calling us?"

"According to my spies in Minish Kingdom, the World Leaders have a trump card:" Vaati replied seriously. "The Grand Inferius. An army of powerful zombies that obey the controller's command. And it seems they have a means of summoning it. I don't know if they can or how close they are, but we must expect the worst. We cannot let the Kids Next Door, namely the Firstborn Guardians, waste energy fighting the Inferius. We must defend them and defend others threatened by the Government."

"Maybe, but if my son is planning on fighting Daphne again, I want to be by his side." Danika said. "I think we should have _some_ type of plan in case we confront the World Leaders."

"I agree." Hpot replied. "We shouldn't just charge them like a pack of wild earthbenders."

 _"Pardon me?!"_ Angie and Imorih chorused.

"We could spend hours concocting a complex plan, but even now, the Leaders could be watching us with their All-Seeing Eye." Vaati reasoned. "That's why the best plan is no plan."

"That has got to be the SHITTIEST THING I ever heard!" Einna shouted.

"It's nothing really new to us." Mika chuckled. "The Brotherhood of Evil, Ganondorf, Arceus, we never had a plan, we just jumped in and fought them."

"Unless you count the plan my group had in sneaking in Final Brain." Danika mentioned.

"Yeah, but it went downhill after that."

"We will not be unprepared, I assure you." Vaati mentioned. "Based on collected info, we know the basic powers of each of the World Leaders, and we can determine weaknesses. My daughter here has faced a World Leader, haven't you, Wendy?"

"Yes." Wendy nodded. "Henry Churchill. He has paper powers, and he's a Logia. And some of his papers can do different stuff, like fire."

"According to Dillon, Daphne can use a Shadow Possession on people and kill them by picking petals off a rose." Danika remembered.

"But what if the Firstborn can't beat the Octogan?" Rachel asked.

"It's not the Octogan we have to defeat, but King Andrew. And what we need to do… is remind him who he once was."

Wendy and the Black Lotus looked confused. However, Rachel and Fanny exchanged remorseful, contemplative looks. "You two know, don't you?" Vaati asked them.

"We… think we do…" Rachel answered.

 **Climbers House**

Melody returned to Facilier' emporium with Miyuki Crystal, who observed the winged cat curiously. Carla wasn't panting as heavily and her eyes were open, but she still lay on the table. "Who is this?" Miyuki asked.

"Her name's Carla, and she's having memory troubles." Facilier answered. "Melody thought you could help."

"You can see something's history, can't you?" Melody asked. "Like you did with Joey?"

"Yes, I can." Miyuki put a hand on Carla's head. She focused her power and saw into the past.

 _An egg fell from the sky and into the sea. It drifted along the waves for two years as Miyuki fast-forwarded time. Eventually, it washed up on a shore. A pair of feet ran up to it, arms reached down to grab it, and Miyuki saw it was Wendy. "Look, Doctor! I found this on the beach- WHOA!" Wendy tripped while bringing it to Facilier._

 _"EASY, girl!" The doctor caught the egg._

 _"Oh, man… That almost ended badly." Wendy blushed._

 _"It ain't no cookin' egg." Facilier put his ear to it. "I can almost feel something moving."_

 _"May I see?" Wendy held her arms open, and her mentor passed it to her. She gasped when the egg cracked. Both of them stared with anticipation… The head of a little kitty popped out of the egg._

 _"Who are you?" the cat asked._

 _"WOW, you can talk?!" exclaimed Wendy._

 _"Of course I can talk, what am I, some animal? …" The kitten observed her paws and the egg she was in. "Oh… I suppose I am."_

 _Miyuki sped through time to when Wendy and the kitten were in the former's room. "I wonder if your family lost you." Wendy said. "We should probably help you find them."_

 _"Perhaps… but…" Miyuki saw from the kitten's perspective, staring up Wendy's body like a pet to her master. "I feel… the compulsive need to stay here."_

 _"You mean you want to be my pet?"_

 _"WHAT?! Where on Earth did you get that idea?!" the cat shouted._

 _"S-Sorry! I guess for a minute, I thought you would think I'm your mom!" Wendy flushed. "Since I was the one who hatched you."_

 _"You don't look a thing like me, why would I think that?"_

 _"Sorry. But if it's okay… I would like you to stay. At least until we find your family."_

 _"Very well. But you had better not call me your pet."_

 _"What should I call you?"_

 _"Hm?" She raised a brow. She put a finger to her chin. "I guess I don't have a name…"_

 _"I'll call you Carla!"_

 _"Why Carla?"_

 _"I just thought of it. Do you like it?"_

 _"Hm… it does have a ring to it. All right, I'm Carla the Cat."_

 _"Hah hah ha!" Wendy giggled._

 _"What should I call you? Wendy the Human?"_

 _"If you want to!"_

"I _did_ feel a compulsive need to stay… even back then." Carla recalled. "But I still want to know how I know Mr. Vaati."

"I couldn't see anything past the egg falling from the sky." Miyuki said. "I couldn't even see anything… laying you."

"If you know who this Vaati is, would he know you, too?" Melody asked.

Carla's eyes narrowed. "He would… wouldn't he?"

 **Negaverse; Itaav's House**

After the meeting, Vaati, Annie, and Wendy sat on the highest roof of the house, gazing at stars and holding hands. "Normally, stargazing isn't what families do after war meetings." Annie laughed. "You must think we're pretty weird, huh?"

"Not really." Wendy grinned. "It's weird enough having a family to stargaze with!"

"If only we can do it all the time." Vaati said. "But as long as the World Government and the Apocalypse threaten us, the eternal dream can never come. This is exactly what I have trained you for, Wendy. And I have waited so long to share this moment with you. After we defeat the Government and Ragaj Gnik, we can build our ideal world. Everyone will be free… everyone will be happy…"

"And we can finally live together." Wendy faced him with hopeful eyes. "Right?"

"We will, my child. We-"

 _Fzzoom!_ They heard a light explosion and faced the ground.

"Dr. Facilier!" Wendy beamed. "Carla!"

"Wendy!" The two had come with Melody and Miyuki.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" Wendy excitedly jumped down, to her father's slight dismay.

"What is this place?" Melody asked.

"A meeting room for the White and Black Lotus." Facilier answered. "Your mother should be here too, Melody. VAATI, come down here! We need you for something!"

Vaati exchanged a curious and concerned look with Annie. He floated down to them. "What seems to be the problem?"

Miyuki approached the cloaked mage. She spared a look at Wendy. Without warning, she grabbed both Wendy and Vaati's hands. Miyuki focused her energy and took them down a sea of memories.

 **Eleven years ago…**

The stars were beautiful in the indigo sky. Their light was reflected on the surface, along with the white full moon. The ocean waves brushed against the cliffside. A setting could not be more romantic. The calm and serenity was the perfect place. Tonight, he would ask her.

Two figures, a man and a woman, walked up the hill. The woman's brown hair was braided into a ponytail. She was in her early 20s and wore casual attire, a green sweater, blue jeans, and white sneakers. The man definitely stood out more: he wore a bluish-purple cape over his blackish-blue shirt and pants, black sandals, and his silver hair blew in the breeze. He was very lean and tall at 22 years old. The moon highlighted his pale white skin, his ears were pointed and sharp, and his red eyes shone in the night.

The couple stopped atop the cliff and stared at the horizon. "That was a lovely dinner, Vaati." the woman said.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Annie." Vaati replied with a deep, charming voice. "Your smile has always delighted me. Ever since that day, 8 years ago…"

"Hm hm hm! My birthday." Annie giggled. "That'll always be my favorite cake."

"Mine, too. And I am so thankful… you've stood by me all these years."

"I couldn't think about leaving you. You've shown me… a whole new path to follow."

"Yes. That is why, I wish to stay with you on that path…" Vaati slowly reached into his cape pocket and pulled out a small, sapphire box. "…forever…"

Annie's green eyes widened. "V-Vaati. Is that…?"

Vaati got down on one knee and showed her the diamond ring inside. "I love you, Annie. I wish to spend my time in this world, and the next one, with you. I also want, very deeply, to have a child of my own. Some like Mikaela have already had their first child, and others like Rachel are pregnant with theirs. I wish to have a child with you, too. …Will you marry me?"

Annie flushed. After all of their years together… she was taken off guard. Now was finally the time. "…Vaati… I can't marry you."

Vaati looked up with surprise. "What?" he said quietly.

"Vaati… I love you, too… and I will always be loyal and support your beliefs. But I know… you want to become a Logia. I wanted to help you, so I did research… to become an airbender Logia means to rid your heart of turmoil or earthly attachment. No Logia airbender has ever married for that reason. I know you're going to save the world, Vaati, I know you'll lead us to freedom. If you're devoted to me, then you can't realize that goal. You can't be free. I'll always follow you and follow your orders… but I can't take you away from what will make you powerful. …Good-bye, Vaati." With a halfhearted smile, Annie turned and walked down the slope.

A wave of realization swept over Vaati. A weight in his heart had flown away. His longing desire to be with Annie. He loved her, still… and was so very thankful for her loyalty. Vaati turned, faced the cliff, and backed away with a determined expression. He dropped the sapphire box and ring and ran for the edge. He jumped and dove into the awaiting waves.

…

…

… Like a bird leaving the nest, Vaati flew. His dark cape and silver hair flapped behind him. Annie turned and smiled as his dark figure shrunk into the sky. Vaati had never known a greater feeling on his heart, light as air. He was free…

Vaati slept on a cloud that night and awoke the next morning. Then for as long as the sun was up, he flew. Where over the world he was, he didn't know, but neither did he need to. Before long, he had flown his way to Skypia, where not surprisingly, the Nimbi citizens passed him odd looks. 'Twas rare for one with no wings to soar across their very streets. He was definitely suspicious to some, and his carefree smile made him seem like a fantasizing child.

Vaati's eyes were closed and he was smiling, chilling his face with the wind's delight. He had never felt so free, his Logia body was air itself, it was a feeling he wanted to last forever. "Oof—aaaaaahh!" Vaati stopped and gasped when he bumped into someone, and they screamed. He looked down, seeing a Nimbi girl of about 21 on her back on a small cloud. Her hair was as white as her wings, and her brown eyes were shiny and cat-like. She wore a black jacket with a white undershirt and black tie, which complimented her black pants and black high-heels. Her white fingernails were long and trim.

Vaati lowered down to her and said calmly, "Miss, I'm sorry. Please, let me help." He tried to help the girl pick up her scattered books and pens, but she aggressively helped herself up and stuffed everything in, slinging the bag over her shoulder.

"Watch where you're going next time!" she stated with a strict tone, before flapping her wings and soaring back into the sky town.

Vaati didn't know how to describe it. He was… swooned. The red was clear on his cheeks. That girl's temper was spicy. He soared after the Nimbi and put a hand on her shoulder. "You aren't hurt, are you? Let me make it up to you if I-"

"Don't _touch_ me." She pulled away. "Go bother someone else, I'm late for my class."

"Class?" Vaati floated in place and watched the girl continue. She and hundreds of Nimbi in similar garb flew into a building labeled _White University_. A Skypian college, by the looks of it. He decided to fly around the campus, which was large and took place on many clouds on varying levels. Students were either socializing or studying. He saw a group of kids playing Frisbee with a Parabuzzy shell, hopefully empty. _"Prithee, lift thine head up!"_ On a misfire, the shell came flying at Vaati, spinning rapidly with its wings outstretched, but the projectile flew right through Vaati's wind-made head. "…Um… apologies?" The students stared bafflingly at what happened, and without another comment, they flew to retrieve their Frisbee.

Vaati loitered around campus for around 3 hours, hoping to see the spunky Nimbi again. Students passed the strange, cloaked figure looks; some thought he was a visiting teacher, others thought he was just some drifter. Finally, Vaati saw her, sitting on the cloud-grass against the side of a stairway. Her face was grumpy and strict as she buried her eyes in a book.

The girl felt a shadow over her, her eyes furrowing since her reading was interrupted. The cloaked stranger with the red eyes stared at her with a smile. "Hello again."

The girl clamped her book shut. "Have you seriously been waiting out here for me? I have no interest for a cretin like you, so I'd like you to go away." She grabbed her belongings and tried to leave, but Vaati hurried in her path.

"Please, forgive me. I'm not trying to impose anything, but I find you… a very marvelous creature."

"Am I supposed to be aroused?"

"You feel so individualized. I have not been to Skypia often, but no Nimbi talks or dresses like you."

"For your information, _everyone_ in White dresses this way. The founders were surface explorers who took interest in the human garb and thought it would make good wear for our kind. As for my talk, forgive my discretion, but the Shakespearean speak gets old. This feels more proper."

"Your tone suits you finely!" Vaati beamed, his voice remained calm and gentle. "If you're free for the moment, I would like you to join me for a beverage. I saw a lovely café a while back."

"I have to go to work in an hour, so I want this time to study."

"I only want a little time. Please? Just one cup?"

The girl sighed. "If it will get you off my tail. May I ask for my stalker's name?"

"It's Vaati. May I have yours?"

"…" She looked away, as though pondering whether or not she should answer. "…It's Charle."

"Charle? That's a wonderful name. Well, shall we be off, Charle?"

She sighed again. "I suppose."

They flew to the outdoor café and ordered two cups of jasmine tea. Charle sipped hers with a smile. "I do love tea." She frowned again as she asked, "So, Mr. Vaati, you call me a peculiar creature, but what kind of creature are you? Some elf from the backstreets?"

"Ha ha ha ha! No, my dear, I am a _Minish_."

"Those little people from the surface?"

"Yes. You might be confused since I'm not as tall as your fingertip."

"Yes, because if you were, I would've swatted you by now."

"Hah hah ha! In truth, I am actually a mage. An airbending mage, to be specific. I gave myself a natural human size and changed the form of my face. This is my wand." Vaati pulled out a bark-colored, pointed stick. "A Minish Acre Piece. It's not the sturdiest material, but this wand has stuck by me thick and thin."

"Oh, I see. That's how you fly, then."

"Actually, I have recently become a Logia airbender. My body is made out of air, so I'm able to fly. Interesting fact, though, the very first Logia was a mage, and I believe his magic helped him accomplish that."

"Go figure." Charle sipped.

"You might say I'm a magic aficionado altogether. One of my hobbies is researching all sorts of spells and magical artifacts, what they can do alone and together."

"Mm-hm."

"I also enjoy exploring the supernatural wonders of our cosmos. Some query where magic ultimately comes from, and I know that it has effect on more than a few areas. It's just such a wonderful thing! Heheh, some say that I'm actually the reincarnation of Lord Voldemort. He was a dark wizard in case you don't-"

"Every creature in the freaking world knows who Lord Voldemort is!" Charle outbursted.

"Right… You're probably tired of hearing about me. Tell me about yourself. What are you studying in college?"

Charle lightly stirred her tea with a spoon. "I'm studying to become an engineer."

"Engineer, how fascinating. I don't know too many girls who are interested in that."

"Well, add me."

"Like, what sorts of engineering?"

"Basically, if a device works, how does it? I can tell you about Lightning Chariots right off the bat. True, the Thundercorns are fast, but you need a carriage of solid and symmetrical Sapphium to be able to withstand their breakneck speed. Unbreakable diamond reins are also a factor."

"You seem very smart in the topic. It's mostly Skypian devices, isn't it?"

"Well, mostly. In all truthfulness, I'd like to expand my knowledge. Surface devices, Oceanic, etc.."

"The magical world has all sorts of peculiar devices."

"You know, some people want to talk about more things than just _magic_."

"I am only saying, I possess knowledge of magical items and you want to expand your knowledge on engineering! I think our two interests can commingle."

"There probably isn't much to it. It's magic, you say a few funny words and _stuff_ happens, objects can suddenly do this or that, there probably aren't any real mechanics."

"While using a Fire Spell, I drastically increase the speed of particles within a set area and increase heat. In creating water, I mold the H2O molecules scattered about the air into one body. By transforming a mouse into a cup, I am solidifying and bending their dimensional structure while still holding their soul and life force in pla-"

"Alright alright, your people clearly have their own style. Look, I don't have time to talk about this, I need to get ready for work." She stood up and grabbed her bag, about to fly off.

"Where do you work? I'd like to join you."

"No. This 'date' is over, and I don't want you to follow me."

"But I wish for us to talk more! I won't follow you, but I want to meet you again. Can I… see you tomorrow?"

"I don't know. Don't you have a home to go to, too?"

"Actually, I don't." Vaati smiled sheepishly. "Wherever the wind blows, that is my home."

Charle sighed. She felt like there was no getting rid of him. "I…I don't have classes tomorrow. We'll meet at this café, 10a.m., and make a plan."

"I look forward." Vaati nodded. With that, Charle flew away, and the mage watched her. He smiled warmly, looking forward to tomorrow.

Vaati slept on the café's roof that night, after exploring Skypia a little. At 10a.m. the next day, Charle met him again. Vaati showed her a journal he had in his possession, pointing at a page that depicted a hi-tech key-like cylinder. "This is a Warpdrive Key, a device that allows spacecraft to travel at lightspeed. They're imbued with photons mixed with dark matter energy, that when inserted into a ship's engine, allows it to travel galaxies in minutes."

"A strong ship of the right metal would be needed to withstand such a speed."

"What if I told you an ordinary Earth school bus could be reprogrammed for such a task?"

"I'd say that your Minish brain clearly forgot to expand with you."

"Ha ha ha ha ha! You'd be surprised, the things I've seen. Moving on," he turned the page, revealing one with a drawing of a mechanical circular archway, "greater than the Warpdrive Key, a Dimension Transportifier. Incredible amounts of spatial and chronokinetic energy are poured into this device. They fire lasers so powerful, they rip holes and link with the Dimensional Byway, then target specific dimensions either on perpendicular or parallel existing planes. Any and all dimensions, depending on the strength of the material and energy, are within our grasp."

"It is very fascinating technology. You seem very fixated on it, though."

"Hm hm hm." Vaati chuckled softly. "The truth is… I am not only fascinated with the structure of other dimensions… I am fascinated on origin."

"Origin?"

"I have been to the Spirit World, Charle, I have met the wisest of all spirits: The Chronicler. He knows nearly everything about every dimension, including that which created us: the Dimensional Fusion. Some unnamed god has taken elements from many a universe, denizens, landscapes, and molded them all into a single cosmos. And yet, those original dimensions still maintain their structure and timeline. So I wonder to myself, why, what, and who, which denizens of this world have an original self in some faraway cosmos? I would really love… to see these worlds."

"It sounds preposterous."

"Hm, I'll tell you more on it later. Moving on, Bubble Coating from Sabaody Park…"

Vaati and Charle agreed to meet two days after that. Charle shared her knowledge of the workings of devices, and admittedly took interest in Vaati's descriptions of magical items. A Vanishing Cabinet disperses the matter of a subject inside one, and reforms it inside the other, same for other teleportation devices like Apparition and Floo Powder. Cars or trains can be enchanted to fly by decreasing the very gravity and substantial mass of its matter. In turn, Charle discussed the workings of human airplanes since Skypia has to deal with those a lot, and Vaati proceeded to tell her how a lightbulb works, to which they both giggled.

"In truth though, Charle, I always believed magic played a factor in all things. It's more-or-less my way of describing… wonders."

"But some wonders are more explainable than others. Sigh… I have to go now. My boss wants me to work late tonight."

"Hmm… very well." Vaati frowned with disappointment. "Shall I see you tomorrow?"

"Yes…" Charle smiled softly.

She flew away from him again. Vaati was still melancholy. He wanted more time with her, their meetings were so short. He chose to ease his sorrow by flying about Skypia, seeing what other wonders it had to offer. That night, a certain restaurant caught his eyes: _Yonder Goddesses_ , the light-up sign read, between two silhouettes of slim woman angels. The interior was a bright red, and Vaati saw why it was so popular: female angels in red high-heels, either two-piece or one-piece red swimsuits, and as part of the outfit, fake cat ears and tails that matched their hair.

"A fine welcome, fair traveler." Vaati flushed when a brown-haired Nimbi fluttered up to him. "Dost thine stomach yearn for grub? How strong is thine hunger?"

". . ." Vaati shook his head, "I could use something to eat." _Though you'd be surprised how little you need to, being made out of air._

Vaati was led to a table in a back corner, on a comfy round seat. He tried to pull his attention away from the lovely angels and stare at the menu. Lots of types of wine, fair amount of Skypian fruit. "Hm hmm. Hast thou decided on thine-" Vaati lowered his menu—he and his waitress gaped at each other. Charle held a sexy pose, clothed in a red one-piece, high-heels, white cat ears, and a tail. She dropped her pen and notepad. "Charle-"

 _"Vaati!"_ she hissed angrily. "What are you doing here?! Did you follow me?"

"Charle? This is your work?"

"Vaati, get _out of here_! I can't let any of the workers think we're dating-"

"Charle, pray tell!" The overweight Nimbi manager landed a few feet away. "Art thou being harsh with yon customers again?" he asked gruffly.

"N-No, pray why wouldst I, Roubi?"

"Thine appeal dost not appeal to men well. Approve on thine weakness shouldst thee wish to stay hither." He flapped away.

Sighing with aggravation, Charle sat on Vaati's lap, smiling seductively and leaning her back against his front. Her narrowed cat-like eyes were complimented by her fake ears and tail. "Didst I not hear thee correctly?"

"Didst I not hear thee?"

Charle glared. "I need extra money to pay tuition and bills, and this was the only job I could land. It's degrading beyond measure, especially when men are so repulsive and demanding. I should hope you have money to pay for a meal."

"I carry a few Rupees, sure. Do you recommend anything?"

"Nothing that suits your magical fancy." She flapped her hair and brushed it on his face.

Vaati blushed and held the menu above his head. "Ocean's Marvel, what's that?"

"Oh, I wouldn't." Charle brushed his legs with her hands. "They import that from Oceana, the taste is kind of strong for Nimbi."

"But I am no Nimbi."

"Yes, but they fill it with salty mist, merpeople are used to it, but air-light beings like ourselves… oh, fine, I just wanna get off of you."

Minutes later, Charle returned with a glass of deep blue liquid, sliding it across the table to Vaati. "Enjoy."

"W-Wait, Charle!" She stopped and turned, folding her arms. "I would like you… to share this with me."

"No, of course not. I wouldn't poison my bowels with any of this garbage."

"You work so hard, Charle, and you are such a lovely woman. I would like my first Skypian brew to be shared with you."

Charle sighed. Why does she keep going along with him. "You taste it first."

Vaati picked up the glass and tipped it to his mouth. "Hoo-o-o!" He shuddered. "It does tickle my tongue."

"How do you feel?"

"I feel… lightheaded. I mean, more than before." Vaati swayed slightly, cheeks still flushed. "Kind of, heheh… funny."

"Hmm… well, I suppose…" Charle hesitantly reached for the drink. She tipped it into her mouth.

Hours later, Vaati and Charle wobbled out of the restaurant, one arm around the other as they laughed hysterically. "You-hoo are RIGHT, Vaati! I fee-heel LOOOAAADS better."

"I dost be shproiggin' my shpiggity shpoo." said Vaati.

"Ho HOOOOO, I am a CAAAAAT and I can FLYYYYY!"

"I am some kind of chipmunk creature, m-my darling." Vaati's moderate charming tone was the same, but he was senseless regardless.

"Hoh HOH, I am tired. I need to _liiiieee_ on my bed-cloud, and go sleepy-sleep."

"Hah-hi should be going to, for sleepy-sleep, yes."

"Nooooo you don't have wings, hah-hi need to do flying for both of us."

"Hee hyes, I no have wings, you must fly me."

"Hooookay. Up we goooo. _Huuuuu_ ," Charle took a breath, "WHEEEE-eeeee- whoopsie! Hahaha!" Charle took flight with Vaati over her shoulders, sinking or swaying left-and-right the whole way.

Charle brought him all the way back to her house, which she had to herself, lived alone. "Felp, here we aaaaaarrrre." She let go of him when they entered the door, Vaati hunched over, smiling, and swaying. "La home of Char _lllllle_."

"Well, ah- I-I'm glad, I brought ya home."

"What are you talking about, I brought yooooouuu." She poked his chest.

"R-Really, w-well why'd you bring me?"

"I don't knooo _oooowww_!"

"Y-You know, I know a couple of werecats, th-they, they got _nothing_ on you, YOU… are just _sexy_."

"You have the _sexiest_ eyes."

"You…" He stared longingly at Charle's brown eyes. "You…" He was getting drowsy. "…" Both of them locked arms and kissed each other lovingly. They collapsed on Charle's bed, and the rest of their night was wonderful.

By next morning, both were passed out. Charle was the first to awaken, groggily, discovering her covers a mess. "Wh-h-whuh…" She took a moment to grasp their position. Vaati was snoring loudly, his arm slung over her. She gasped horrified. Neither of them had clothes on. There were so many words building inside that just wouldn't escape her mouth. But she was panicking, incredibly. She quickly but softly climbed out of bed, putting on a bra and underwear. She wondered if any of the neighbors witnessed them come in, heard them last night. She wanted the nerves in her body to settle before she woke Vaati up. She took hesitant steps forward and felt a paper wrinkle beneath her foot. Looking down, she was standing on Vaati's discarded cape.

She bent down and picked up the light-brown paper. It was a wanted poster, depicting a dark figure with a gazing red eye, half-turned away from the camera. She gaped and stared in horror at his striking resemblance.

 _WANTED  
"Red Eye"  
Reward: $56,000,000_

 __

 _Unnamed Revolutionary that is responsible for the destruction of 137 Government facilities. Suspected in the usage and purchasing of illegal dark magic artifacts. Possesses airbending and magical abilities. Do not engage, report to officials of any sightings of Red Eye or those suspected to be affiliated._

"Yaaaaaawn." Charle's heart was racing. Her face was struck with horror. She turned as Vaati began to awaken. "Hoo, that was some party. I forget, did I eat the Tinanas or save them-"

"You're a wanted CRIMINAL?!" Charle smacked the poster against his face.

"Oh… I see you saw."

"When were you planning to tell me THIS?! Did you just escape from prison with your 'LOGIA' powers and fly here to hide out?! Are-Are you planning to hold me as HOSTAGE, force me to HARBOR you? Do you know how much trouble I'm gonna be in for associating with you?!"

"You worry too much. The World Government of Earth sent those posters, no one in Skypia will recognize me."

"NIMBI work for the World Government, the God's Angels air force, don't you know that?! What if they track you here? I'm not going to be arrested because I slept with-" She froze, suddenly remembering. "Oh, God… what did we do last night?"

"Drank Ocean's Marvel and had one hell of a party."

Charle shook to her near-senses, "I…I need to go to a hospital. I need to know if that drink has any… lasting effects. Stay in this house and DON'T leave! I don't want anyone to see you until I know it's safe."

"Okay…" Vaati rubbed his eyes, still a little woozy. He noticed his wand on the nightstand and reached for it, sniffing it curiously. "…Disinfecto."

 **St. Noah's Hospital**

Ocean's Marvel was very long-lasting if drunk in large quantities, according to Doctor Orbi. Apparently there were accounts of Nimbis' internal organs dyed blue, but it was still too early to confirm any permanent damage on Charle. That wasn't the only reason she came, though. She needed to check another lasting effect besides the alcohol. After an hour or so of worriedly sitting on a hospital bed, Orbi returned.

"Lady Charle, 'twould be crossing boundaries to query thee on thine recent activities, but thine results do not lie: thou art with child."

Charle felt herself freeze. She might've wanted her heart to stop entirely. Last night, she got herself drunk out of her memory… she slept with a dangerous criminal… now her life may be ruined…

"Wouldst I be overstepping if I query the father?" Orbi asked.

 **Charle's House**

After Vaati dressed himself, he curiously searched Charle's drawers. Magazines on foodstuffs, how to make cakes, teas, or even corndogs. "Perhaps she studies cooking as a hobby-"

"You BASTARD!" Charle stomped in, startling Vaati into closing the drawer, and her fist swung through his wind-made head. "You got me PREGNANT!"

"I. . ." Vaati flushed. "I…"

"You _what_? You didn't mean to? Well, stow it, because of all the daffy men I encountered, you are by far the worst!"

"But, Charle, you're missing the big picture here. A _child_!" Vaati beamed. "Aren't you excited what wonders-"

"I don't WANT A CHILD!" Charle threw a slap at his head, but it was like swinging at air. "I can't deal with a child right now! Not between college and home life!"

"But Charle, children are amazing. They can learn so much from us, and we learn so much from them. Just think, this child, _our_ child, can be great beyond-"

"No! I will not care for the child of Earth's most-wanted criminal! I will not let people connect its appearance to you, and me. I want you to leave me and never come back. As soon as this, mutant half-Minish half-Nimbi is born, I'm dropping it at an orphanage so I will never be traced back to you again. Now, please leave, Mr. Vaati. Ugh, when Mr. Roubi finds out, I'm going to have to look for another job. There's NO point being flirty when I'm already taken. LEAVE!"

Vaati sighed solemnly, grabbed his cape and his belongings, and left out the front door. He took flight to the distant horizon, looking back as Charle stood there, watching until he was gone. Even from afar, he could feel her sharp brown eyes glaring.

Since she was only in the first phases of her pregnancy, Charle was able to continue her classes and her job without much grief. It wasn't easy. Even if she didn't want this child, she wouldn't feel right if it wasn't born into the world healthy. She made sure to eat the right fruits and vegetables, declined any alcohol she was offered at work, but her mood swings became more noticeable by her college friends. By the time September arrived, her belly was too bloated for her to hide anymore. She confronted her boss that evening.

"Thou jester me?! Pray, when hast this happened?!" demanded Roubi.

"Several months ago, as a drunken mistake. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask for time off. The doctors told me I may be due on February 14, but I don't plan to raise it."

"I scoff at thine doctors!" He banged his hands on his desk. "In spite of thine swinging mood, thou hast brought forth more customers than ever with my ingenious bikini policy. Thou appeareth surprisingly attractive. Thou shalt be rid of thy child posthaste!"

"Be rid of—are you MAD?! I am not going to kill this child, and you can't force me to!"

"A smutty angel hast no opinion against mine. Thou shalt be rid of this anchor and please my brethren when I order thee to-" The office door suddenly blew open, Charle standing her ground against the wind while Roubi smashed against the wall. The girl turned, gasping as Vaati marched in, his appearance more dark than ever.

"And who are you to decide the fate of two beings?" Vaati stood over the man, his red eyes sending a chill down Roubi's spine.

The aggressive angel swallowed his worry and told him from his spot on the floor, "Thou hast no place to order me either, stranger! Be gone from hither, or I shalt summon the officials to take thee- u-uck. ." Vaati raised his right hand and tightened the space in his fingers. Roubi began choking as he was lifted by an invisible force around his neck.

"The angels of Skypia know what freedom is, I was always sure of that. With wings to go anywhere, why should one deny others their freedom?"

 _"P-Pray, what power be this?! Art thou, ps…psychicbender?! A Sith of yore?"_

"Hm." Vaati smirked. "I am more than a Sith. I am Air. I am Freedom."

Vaati began to whirl his arms, and Charle stared with horror as a stream of breath flowed out of Roubi's mouth. "Mr. Vaati, please stop!"

"All beings deserve freedom. To me, freedom is just as vital as air. If you deny others their freedom, you should not deserve… _breath_."

"MR. VAATI, STOP RIGHT NOW!"

The wind mage closed his eyes. He ceased his whirling, and softly pushed the breath back into Roubi. The Nimbi panted helplessly on the floor, staring at his assaulter. With a powerful thrust of his arms, Vaati blew Roubi through the wall with an air blast, into a back room. Charle sighed with slight relief as Vaati turned to her. "I'm… sorry."

Charle felt the urge to punch him, but… ceased. "What are you doing back here? Sky Islands constantly move, so unless you were very close all these months…"

"I used this Grand Compass." Vaati held a golden compass with a glass dome in his hand. The arrow pointed to Charle. "It points to whatever the possessor most desires. I desired… my child."

"…" Charle glanced away, still glaring. "Let's go somewhere else."

Vaati and Charle were later seated on a small cloud several meters above the street of their café. "Aside from magic and other dimensions, I have strongly believed in the philosophy of freedom. I dislike the idea of rulers, governments, or boundaries. I dream of a world where all beings can be able to commingle in peace."

"And for that reason, you attack innocent government officials, as well as small business owners?"

"Those officials are anything but innocent. They have harmed, tormented people, ruled corruptly. Surely you cannot speak differently for that boss of yours?"

"… Well, perhaps not." Charle looked away. "But I can hardly believe your manner of violence.."

"I know I have done some bad things, I know I have hurt people, but all I really want is a happier world. The World Government of Earth is corrupt, and my goal is to thwart them. They will lead this world into destruction, Charle."

"I understand your reasons, but you can't expect me to support you. Freedom has a price."

"But little price on _your_ people. Ever since I was young, my dream was to be able to fly like Nimbi. I have always admired your kind, to go wherever you wish just by the flapping of your wings! I would describe to you the beauties of airbending, but I guess you already know it."

"Not true. I'm able to fly like an average Nimbi, but I don't have airbending."

"You don't?" Vaati said with a look that seemed sympathetic.

"Yes, but don't console me for it. Many Nimbi don't, it hasn't bothered me once."

"That may be, but there's more that comes with the element than just the power: the spirituality that makes that element bendable, in this case freedom. You are so strict and devoted to your goals – not a bad thing to be sure – but all beings must know freedom."

"And what form of freedom do you plan to teach me?"

"The simplest kind. Come with me and we shall fly. For just one night, let me show you the extent of our flight. The limitless possibility."

Vaati stood and held a hand down. Charle remained seated and stared up at him. His charming white face, his trusting red eyes. Charle still didn't know what, but this man was so… inviting. She took his hand and stood. Then, Vaati jumped over the edge and dove toward the earth. He angled upward, and Charle held onto him as they both flew. Across miles of forest and mountains, the endless earth felt so small. They found a city and decided to glide between its buildings. Passing glances into many a window, each resident jumped with a shock. They gracefully maneuvered around the scaffolds of a building under construction, then began to skip across the roofs of restaurants, each step for one roof as they took great, air-light leaps.

They flew to the sea and glided just over the waves, skipping their fingers along the surface. Many fish and dolphins leaped by, then the two were headed to a ferry. They flew above the vessel, Vaati saw Rainier and Mikaela Chariton, with their daughters Sunni and Darcy, and the couple waved at them happily. Then the two soared up and glided beside an airplane, finding a little boy with blond hair and sunglasses asleep on a seat. Vaati and Charle laughed, then flew away.

Eventually, the duo returned to Charle's house, landing on the front yard. The two of them still had their smiles. "Mr. Vaati… this was a very wonderful night. After all the stress I've had to deal with… it felt good to stretch my wings."

"People will always say that 'freedom isn't free'. But in reality, it is, if we allow ourselves to feel it."

"I…I'm not sure on your… wh-what you do." Charle turned away. "I thank you for the night, but you're still a wanted felon, and I don't wish to be associated with you. And as for this child, I…"

Vaati frowned. "I shall leave you alone if it's your wish, but I want to be there when you have it."

"…Yes… but when I do have it… I want you to raise it. For both of us."

"…" Vaati smiled. "You have my word."

 **February, 2021**

The months had flown by so quickly, and Vaati anticipated his coming child every moment. February 14, the targeted date, was approaching. Vaati followed the direction of his Grand Compass to Charle, on flight to Skypia. He was completely prepared, for everything he had planned with his new child. His eyes intricately skimmed a book of wands. "'The Fairy's Tail, the greatest and most powerful of wands behind the Star Rod. Wielded a long time ago by the Fairy Princess, it is a historical relic treasured by the fairies. Only those deemed worthy by the princess are able to hold it. No man, fairy, or god has earned this honor.' …" Vaati closed the book and looked at the compass. He focused his mind on the course and flew at greater speed.

 **St. Noah's Hospital**

"HURRRRRRRHHH!" The day was here, all right. Charle felt it in her gut, the baby ready to burst.

"Calm thy nerves!" a doctor told her as she was placed onto a bed. "Thine pain will be over shortly!"

"Rrrrrrnnnngh-gh-gh. . . where. . are you. . Mr. . . Vaat—AAAAAHHH!"

"Prithee, bringeth more painkillers, now is yon shining moment!" a doctor told his colleagues.

Under the setting sun at 7:00 that evening, Vaati flew toward the hospital at breakneck speed. He breezed past the floating and crippled Nimbi outside as a sudden gust, through the front doors, scattering many papers at the receptionist desk, across every hall and stairway until he could find the room. "Where are you? Charle!" His compass narrowed on a specific door, so Vaati barged in.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"Waaaaaahhh!" She was born. Her crying rang from the room. The doctors cleaned the blood off her beautiful tiny form and fetched a blue blanket to wrap her in. "Praise the goddesses, 'tis a girl!" the doctors cheered.

Vaati was so entranced by the sight, he almost forgot about Charle. The pained woman looked at him from the bed, and smiled. "Art thou the father?" a doctor asked him.

"…Yes." Vaati smiled calmly. "I am her father. May we… see her now?"

A nurse placed the baby in Charle's arms. She was still crying and flailing her arms. Charle unwrapped the blanket from her head for a better view. She already had hair, which was a very deep shade of blue, and her brown eyes were shiny behind her tears. Charle's heart melted. She couldn't believe… this child in her arms… "My… child…" She smiled, feeling powerful emotion inside herself. "My… child!" Her own brown eyes leaked. "My darling… little angel."

Vaati's own heart warmed at the sight. The baby was so beautiful, he almost didn't notice. "Her… hair." He slowly reached his long-nailed fingers and brushed it. "It…It's blue."

"Oh, my… perhaps that was a result of the Ocean's Marvel. I got pregnant just after drinking it, s-so maybe…"

"Is that really so bad? She truly _is_ a marvel, after all."

Charle softly rubbed the baby's cheek. How perfectly healthy and vibrant she sounded. Her baby. "Yes… she is."

 **Charle's House**

The baby was fast asleep by the time they were home. Charle sat on her wheelchair, rocking her in her arms. "Can you believe it… the first half-Minish half-Nimbi baby… yet, she looks so… human. She doesn't even have wings. She doesn't look a thing like us."

"Not true. She has your eyes. You look generally human, except for your wings. That was a fault of my own traits."

"What should we name her?"

"She is a marvel, so…"

"Why did I expect you to give her that?" Charle giggled.

"But it works so well, what other name should we give her?"

 _"Oooooooo…"_ They looked down when Wendy raised her arms and flailed softly, her mouth curved into an 'o' as she blew. A very tiny cyclone rose from her lips, up into the air, its little breeze chilling them both. "Hm hm. How about Windy?" Charle remarked.

"Yes… it's perfect!" Vaati beamed. "Wendy Marvell… I've never heard any name more beautiful."

"I…I agree. It's a wonderful name. Wendy Marvell…"

Vaati closed his eyes, smiling softly. He would hate to ruin this moment… "I guess… you want me to take her now?"

"…I…I don't." Charle didn't take her eyes off the baby. "I want to keep this child… I want to see her… grow into a fine young woman… She's so… beautiful."

Vaati stared at Wendy again. Her hair, blue as the deep sea. "In more ways than one…"

Charle kept her baby close as she slept that night, though allowed Vaati to sleep on the floor of her room. They weren't actually married yet, so she didn't feel comfortable sharing a bed. The issue at hand was a large one, eventually they would have to start making marital plans so they could raise this child peacefully. The real problem was Vaati's position as an unnamed criminal, however the mage does speak of close friends in many places. As suspicious as this sounded, Charle couldn't confront him, yet.

She entrusted Vaati with caring for the baby while she was off to a long day of school and work. She landed a new job as a grocery store clerk, and made friends with a delightful girl named Luvbi, a coworker who looked around 16 years old, though Luvbi claims she was much older. Luvbi plans to have her first child at 20, which Charle questioned why at such a young age, even despite what she's done.

At 6:30p.m., Charle happily soared to her home, eager to see what development is taking place between Vaati and Wendy. "Mr. Vaatiiii. Wendyyyy. I'm home." She called, entering the house. No one responded, and the house felt dead quiet. She filled with dread, dropping her belongings. "Vaati? Wendy?!" She searched all throughout the house, but the cradle was nowhere, nor was its lovely angel. "Where could they have-" Charle stepped on something round and hard. She looked down and found the Grand Compass. The moment she picked it up, the arrow whipped toward a specific direction.

She clutched the device tight and flew hastily across the sea, looking at the compass every few seconds to see she was on track. How long had she been flying, how far did Vaati take her precious angel? Or where were Vaati and her angel taken to?

She knew before long, that great colossus that towered over everything else in the world. Mount Mariejoa, the World Government's headquarters. The compass was aimed at a specific level of the mountain, Midway Peak. Its outer balcony was trashed, the double doors atop the stairs forced open. Charle glided inside and found many rich types groaning and weak. There was a notable group by the stairs, Charle flew over and read their nametags. Carter Pewterschmidt, a man who looked sick beyond measure. Charles Burns, a yellow-skinned bald man who was very flimsy. Morgan Uno, a young woman around Charle's age (don't get confused between Charle and Burns), who looked frozen and stiff as though she'd been hit with a Stunning Spell. One man was still conscious, Giovanni, a brown-haired man with a shiny black suit.

She flew down to him, "Mister, what in the world happened here?"

"Are you one of the God's Angels?" he asked. "That Red Eye creep showed up, he's going for Head President Osborn."

Charle gasped and flew up the stairs, down the corridors as instructed by the compass. Finally, a specific door was targeted, so she kicked it open. "MR. VAATI, WHAT'S-" Charle stared. The room was dark, except for a small circle of 8 candles. A pedestal was in the center, and Wendy rested atop it in her cradle. In one corner, a man with light-brown hair and a green armored suit was chained against the wall, struggling to shake free. "What…"

Vaati stood over the child, staring at her tranquilly. Charle viewed his profile from the left, and his one red eye had an eerie feel on his dark face. "Charle… I'm glad you're here."

"M-Mr. Vaati… what are you doing?"

Vaati looked at her, "This child is truly a marvel, Charle, in more ways than you think. You were right, she doesn't look a thing like us. That is why…" He looked down at Wendy with madness in his eyes, "she is _proof_! Proof of the Dimensional Fusion!"

"That whole thing again?"

"Exactly! Why in the world was this child born with blue hair when we have white? The Ocean's Marvel may have _seemed_ like the deciding factor, but it was all part of fate: this girl has an original parallel from another dimension. But were either of us connected with her in that dimension, who knows! Or maybe we were from someplace else entirely! I look so different from her, and that man over there looks so different from either of us, this is what I've been talking about, Charle! And yet, though we have no slated connection with each other, the gods of this universe have organized this very happening!"

"Vaati, you are absolutely crazy! Let's assume that you're actually RIGHT, who CARES if we have parallels from other dimensions?! We were born in THIS dimension. I want to live the life I was given HERE, and I want Wendy to do the same!"

"I know, Charle, she will!" Vaati said hastily, grinning madly. "In fact, I want her to grow up the same way that I have! I'm going to do like you once said, Charle… after this ritual is complete, I will abandon her at an orphanage."

"What?"

"I grew up with no parents, Charle, the only person I could consider 'father' was my old teacher, Ezlo. He taught me the magic I grew accustomed to, but I was not obliged to obey him forever. He did not give birth to me. During my childhood, I was free, and as I grew older, I embraced that freedom. I want Wendy to grow up the same. No parental authorities to control her. Then when she comes of proper age to learn magic, I plan to meet her again. Then, we will make the most powerful team. Together, we shall seek the other dimensions of origin, and learn why in the _world_ the gods put us together."

"ENOUGH of this! Stop this insane 'ritual' and give my daughter back!"

During their conversation, Norman Osborn was able to free his right arm from its cuff. He pulled off his gag and whispered quickly into his wristwatch. "Red Eye has a daughter. Repeat, Red Eye has a daughter. Inform Henry Churchill. I will attempt to engage him, and capture her. This message is in case I fail. Good-bye… Master."

Norman aimed his wrist at the leg cuffs, blasted them free, planted his armored feet against the wall, and kicked free of the other chains. He lunged at Vaati with bladed wrists—the wind mage whipped around and, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" with a powerful burst of green light, Osborn was dead. Vaati felt a cringe in his heart—immediately he yelled, "SEPARO!" and struck his own chest.

Charle gaped at the sight. Vaati was forced mouth agape as his very soul rose from his body. His spirit ripped in half like paper. The left half returned into his being, while the right slowly absorbed into Wendy. The child brimmed, a breeze generated that blew the candles out. Charle fearfully approached the baby after Vaati's essence was absorbed. … Her ears grew thin and sharp, and her little eyes peeped open, going from brown to red. (Play "Madness" from _Mad Father_!)

Charle was horrified beyond compare. She choked out breath, but couldn't find the right words to display her anger. _"What did you_ do _? . . ."_

"I want my daughter to grow up without parents." Vaati helped himself up off the ground. "However, I also want to always be by her side. So… I split my soul and put half of it in her. Wendy is now my Horcrux. As long as she lives, I will never die. And my spirit will always protect her."

"A… _Horcrux_?"

 _"A Horcrux? What is this for?" Charle asked Vaati, viewing the page in his journal._

 _"It is a very curious brand of dark magic. A mage is able to split their own soul in half, and seal it inside an object. I have a necklace drawn here as an example, but a Horcrux can be anything. It can even be a person."_

 _"Why would anyone want to split their soul? It sounds painful."_

 _"Yes, but through doing so, the wizard becomes immortal. Of course, there are side-effects. The object in question becomes bound to the mage, and possesses his dark energy. I actually discovered how to successfully make one, if you-"_

 _"No thank you. The idea of cutting your soul makes my spine tingle."_

Charle remembered seeing such a thing in Vaati's journal. "Her… You…You _monster_." The Nimbi was ready to murder. "You MONSTER!" Charle sent kick after kick at his back, but all went through like empty air. "How could you DO this to our daughter?! Have you no SHAME?!"

"What shame is there… in giving my daughter incredible power? You want her to live long and happy, don't you?" Vaati turned to face her. Charle gasped at his grotesque visage; while his left half was mostly normal, the right of his face was gray and lifeless, and his pale right eye floated about like a rubber ball in a fish tank.

"V-Vaati…"

Curious, the man felt his face. "Oh, my… Yes, that can sometimes happen with Horcruxes. Should be nothing a little magic can't fix. But with the transfer of my soul to her body, her natural abilities should be drastically enhanced. Aside from airbending, I have confirmed the magic in her blood. I am so eager to see how she uses it. Why don't we take her outside and see?"

"Vaati!" The mage took the child and flew, Charle giving chase. Outside on Midway Peak's balcony, Vaati raised the baby overhead. When Charle made it out, she felt a powerful wind fall over the area. The curtained tables and chairs were blowing.

"I see…" Vaati smirked. "Her magic mixed with Air Chi and my soul has made her a tad unstable. This side-effect is sure to lessen as she gets older and gains more control. But I doubt her caretakers will agree. In time, they will show resent, forcing Wendy to run away. She will gain true freedom and experience, running across the earth, with no one to tell her otherwise."

"Vaati, you GIVE her back right now!" Charle demanded. "Are your crackpot theories about freedom and parallel universes SO important that you would curse our precious angel and let her grow up ALONE?!"

"Not alone, my soul will be with her! And I'll have a couple friends watch over her, too! But she cannot go with guidance; not until the right time. 11 years from today, when she's officially at the age to learn magic, after she has learned to survive without parents or guardians… her training can begin."

"GIVE HER BACK!" Charle flew up, swiped Wendy in her arms, and flew quickly.

"CHARLE!" Vaati chased the Nimbi with greater speed, whipped in front of her, and grabbed the baby.

"VAATI, LET HER GO! I'M NOT LETTING YOU DO THIS TO HER!"

"Our world is DOOMED, Charle! I plan to save it!" Vaati struggled to pull the child away. "I want Wendy to help me, but she has to grow up THIS way! Together, we will destroy the World Leaders, and rid this planet of borders and boundaries, including dimensional boundaries! I will take Wendy to the New World, and with our powers, WE WILL LINK ALL DIMENSIONS TOGETHER!"

"YOU'RE INSANE! Give her BACK to me! Give back. . . **LET GO! !"** Vaati yanked Wendy away and flew off. Charle chased after him, a passionate, desperate fire in her brown eyes. Vaati looked back; for a Nimbi with no airbending, she was uncannily fast. She wouldn't stop until her baby was in her arms. Vaati couldn't let her get in the way, so on a quick impulse, he whipped out his wand and flicked it at her-

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" (End song.)

A whipping flash of white light whooshed across Charle's face and chest. Gushes of blood flew out. The Nimbi lost the fire in her eyes and collapsed onto a cloud. Vaati stared at her with horror in his left eye. He slowly lowered down to Charle's gasping form. Her brown eyes were sad with despair. She achingly outreached an arm to her child. Wendy was so close… yet so very far away. Vaati knew the spell to heal these wounds… but his plans for Wendy were convolutedly planned in his head, and Charle couldn't get in the way. He closed his eyes and performed a series of complex waves with his wand. "Resurrección."

Charle's particles scattered into the air. Her blood had soaked the cloud, but it would fade before long. Vaati flew away to carry out his objective. A faint white energy existed where Charle last lay.

 **Dr. Facilier's Voodoo Emporium**

"Whoa, Vaati, Vaati, Vaati…" Facilier raised both hands and gestured a 'stop'. "This is all a bit much to ask of me. I mean, wouldn't you rather raise her yourself?"

"Even if I establish no rules, Wendy must not feel burdened to obey her parent." Vaati stated, the baby still bundled in his arms. His head was wrapped with black cloth, exposing mainly the left half. Annie stood behind him. "I instruct you and my cohorts to watch her, but do not interact. I will place her in the orphanage where Jeremiah works, but he will receive the same instructions. I will let you know when she comes of age." Vaati turned to head out the door.

"Vaati, Vaati." Facilier put a hand on his shoulder. "You're my homeboy, and I know y'all want to save the world, but I _must_ ask ya to reconsider. She's yo' girl! And you want her to grow up alone? Please keep her, or at least let Annie raise her, so she can grow up with all the others."

"No, Harvey… I truly believe this is the right course for my daughter. And I know…" He looked down at Wendy's adorable sleeping face, "that she will be of use to me… someday…"

Facilier sighed solemnly, but had no other comment. Vaati and Annie left the shop, standing in the pitch-black alleyway under the windy night. "Which reminds me… I'd prefer to keep the matter of Charle a secret from her. When the time comes, _you_ will pretend to be Wendy's mother."

"I… Me?" Annie asked with a somber look.

"As delightful as Charle was, you would make an excellent mother figure. My love is still for you, Annie. Won't you?"

"… Y-…yes." Annie nodded. "I'll do whatever you think is right… Lord Vaati."

 **Present time**

Miyuki ended the vision and released their hands. Wendy was completely speechless. Her expression was matched by Carla's, who had been touching Miyuki's leg.

Miyuki stepped away from the three. Facilier and Melody didn't know what they saw, but it looked traumatizing. Wendy turned, bowing her head as she played it in her head again. Carla glared at Vaati. "You knew who I was all along… didn't you?"

No response.

"I am…I am Wendy's real mother… aren't I?"

"…I never wanted to kill you, Charle." Vaati spoke. "I thought if you could be reborn… you could learn to see things my way. That's why I destroyed your original body with Resurrección so you would be reborn as a cat. Wendy…" His daughter was still turned. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you you were a Horcrux. I planned to eventually. But I did it so I would always be with you. I did it because I loved you! And then you would always know… you were never alone."

Wendy faced him. The child calmly approached her father, to Carla's shock and horror. Vaati smiled and held his hand open. …Wendy kicked her father in the crotch. "Oof!" Even his Logia didn't protect.

"I could forgive you for leaving me all alone… I could understand why you made me a Horcrux. But you lied to me, Father. How can I trust what you say?"

"If you knew the truth, you would have a harder time understanding."

"Understanding what?!" Wendy cried tears. "That I'm a tool to you?! Living proof that Dimensional Fusion is real?! How do I know you haven't been controlling my thoughts?! How do I know your soul isn't eating away at mine?!"

"I've been protecting you all this time! I kept you from killing yourself! I made you stronger! I know that I've done dark things, but you were more important to me than anything!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD'VE KEPT ME!" Wendy pushed him. "You lied to me about my mom!" Sniffle. "And because of you… so many of my friends were hurt."

"The incidents with June and Chelia were not my fault!" Vaati argued. "June was bound to her city against her own will, Chelia was captured by a World Leader… If we lived in a free universe, none of those things would happen. That's what I'm planning to stop, Wendy, I want to save them much like you do! I want to make the New World with you… Don't you understand?"

"…" Wendy calmed. "Do you know where the World Leaders are holding Chelia?"

Vaati raised a brow, pondering her intentions. "If Chelia possessed God Chi… I surmise she is somewhere on Mariejoa."

"…Then good-bye, Father." Wendy picked Carla up and joined Dr. Facilier.

"You aren't going to Mariejoa now, are you?"

"Not by myself. I would like to join… the Kids Next Door." She faced Melody and Miyuki. "Would you, perhaps, be acquainted with them?"

"Y-Yeah…" Melody said awkwardly. "We can take ya to Moonbase and meet Cheren…"

"That would be great!" Wendy grinned. "Dr. Facilier, let's go home, please."

"Of course, Wendy…" The doctor spared a repentant look at Vaati before Apparating the group.

"Ahem." Vaati and Annie turned to Itaav and Ydnew in the doorway. "I don't know what that was about… but I think it's clear who the bad father is."

"So, what? Is our alliance broken?" Vaati remarked.

"I will still fight the World Government with you, Vaati… but I will have my eye on you."

 **Climbers House**

Upon returning to the basement, Melody and Miyuki agreed to give them some alone time, going upstairs for refreshments. Wendy and Carla looked at each other in a different way. At first, they had just been a magical girl and her talking pet. In truth, they were mother and child. Carla bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. Even now, I… can't remember a thing about my past. I can't remember… how much I adored you back then."

Wendy picked Carla up and hugged her. "Mom… I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused you. None of this would've happened… if I was never born."

"Don't ever say that, Child." Carla hugged her. "I don't think I was ever more happy… than when you appeared in my life. And I'm so proud of you… for living and making it this far. I'm glad I got to see you… become a strong young woman."

There was a knock on the portal-door. They watched as Facilier went to answer it. When Harvey peeked through the eyehole, he saw a familiar brown-haired girl. "Samantha!" He let her in. "I know the shop looks a little different, but…" He noticed the distraught expression on the girl. "You look a little pale… You sleeping okay?"

"Dr. Facilier… did you see the sky two days ago?"

Facilier frowned. "I did… I guess it was real after all."

"W-What's gonna happen? My brother's panicking—all my classmates are afraid—and I'M afraid, I couldn't sleep for two days, and I was afraid to come HERE because…"

"Because what?" Facilier whispered, trying to sound consoling.

"Because I…I was afraid to know what's gonna happen. But, I just want to know now… are we going to be okay?"

"Alright then, sit down. I'll settle this." Harvey's assuring smile eased her worries. Samantha sat at the table while the doctor got his crystal ball. Both put their hands over the ball. Wendy and Carla anticipated his response. "I…I can't see nothin'."

"Nothing?!" Samantha almost broke into tears.

"Nothin' but the Kids Next Door… doin' what they do best." The doctor smiled. "And that's give people hope. Samantha… as long as we have them, we don't have to worry. I know they gonna protect us."

"Are…Are you sure?"

"Yes. Because the Kids Next Door… _are_ hope. Nothing can defeat them."

Samantha smiled. "In that case… I want to join them." She stood up. "I want to give people hope, too. …" She noticed Wendy standing near the couch. "Hey, I recognize you… You're the girl in the wanted posters."

"Um…" Wendy was nervous.

"Are you in the Kids Next Door, too?" Sam asked as she approached. "A lot of other operatives have wanted posters like you do. Can you help me get in?"

"Yo, we just got a call from Moonbase." Melody called as she and Miyuki returned. "You wanna go up or what?"

Wendy spared a look with Samantha and smiled with enthusiasm. "Yes! We're ready!"

 **Fairy World**

"Yes… I'd say that she is." Princess Mavis smiled.

* * *

 **In the original _Fairy Tail_ , I always pictured Wendy and Carla having a mother/daughter relationship… and their friendship always touched me to that point. I just didn't feel right leaving them out of the main Gameverse. Anyway, I'm sad to report the next Side Stories chapter may be the last. Next time, we will conclude the Negaverse story and find the final Darkness.**

 **…**

 _"One day, this month, you are going to die. Maybe it's by the Apocalypse, maybe you're killed trying to stop the Apocalypse. My question for you is… how would you like to go out."_

Those were the words Miyuki told Cheren. And now, as they fly to Moonbase, Miyuki felt it greater than ever. She didn't know how, she didn't know why… but the death of their beloved Supreme Leader was approaching.


	35. Dead

**This is the last chapter of Side Stories. Get ready, folks.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter B-35: Dead_**

 **KND Moonbase**

"So, you're ready?" Cheren said into his phone. "Alright… I'll meet you there. I just need to collect my group first. See you soon, Kid." He hung up.

"Is it time?" Panini asked.

"Yeah… we're going to meet him in the town square."

"Cheren, Miyuki's back!" Francis called. "They brought some people with them!"

Cheren exited his office to see Miyuki and Melody approach. They were accompanied by a brown-haired girl and a familiar blue-haired girl. "Wendy!"

"Hello, Cheren!" Wendy greeted happily.

"ANOTHER girlfriend?!" Panini yelled with disapproval.

"You wish! Wendy, who is this girl?"

"Name's Samantha! I wanted to join the Kids Next Door."

"So do I!" Wendy followed. "I heard you guys were planning to fight the World Leaders and I wanted to help."

"Well, by all means, feel free to help. But Arctic Training is kind of suspended at the moment. This Apocalypse business is making everyone go nuts."

"Oh… I understand. But I'll do my very best to help out!"

"Ha ha, great!" Cheren grinned. "Anyway, Miyuki, I wanna take you on a mission. We're going to the Underworld, so we need to get you a Life Ring. Kid said he would have some. Let's go get Nerehc."

Miyuki followed him and Panini with worry on her features. _The Underworld… is this when it happens?_ "Cheren, why are we going to the Underworld?"

"We're going to meet Majora."

"!" Miyuki gasped. Unable to think of a follow-up question, she followed them at a quicker pace.

"Yeah, I thought you would." Cheren smirked.

"I guess I'm gonna have to wait to join, huh?" Wendy asked her mother.

"Perhaps this is good. We need to find a way to rid you of your Horcrux curse." Carla replied.

"I agree… but I have to admit, it has made me stronger." Wendy stared at her hand. "It could be useful… but it feels wrong using my dad's power. …Well, let's go talk to some people!" she said happily. "You never know which ones we'll be seeing every day!"

 **Underworld Prison**

A centaur-driven chariot pulled up to the gates of Underworld Prison. The prison was surrounded by a great stone wall and the only entrance was through sapphire flame gates. The chariot parked by the gate guard, a Fatblin in black armor. "Halt. This is a restricted area. What business have you?"

"I'm the Grim Reaper's son, you disproportioned mess of a mountain." Death the Kid, the chariot's passenger, stated aggressively. "I demand you let me in. I'm here to see a certain prisoner."

"Hurrrr…" The Fatblin looked at a list of approved people: below Grim Reaper and Velma Green, Kid's name was listed. "Ukay. But I need to do a disguise test. Step out of the cart, Mr. Reaper."

Kid climbed out of the chariot. The Fatblin raised a bucket of magic water and poured it over him. Kid was infuriated by the soaking, but nothing else happened. "Okay… In you go." The Fatblin clapped and disabled the flames.

"Thank you." Kid passed and headed for the entrance to the small, two-floor building. Inside was the giant desk belonging to the prison's new warden, Magellan, a huge bat demon in a black coat and horns.

"Hmm?" Magellan looked down and saw Kid. "Your Majesty. Welcome back. Is there any word regarding the Blackbeard matter?"

"We're closing in on the case." Kid answered. "As a matter of fact, I'm here to visit a certain prisoner: Dimentio Z. Winkiebottom."

"Dimentio? Mmmm, okay." Magellan grabbed a ring of keys. "Follow me, Kid." The demon unlocked an elevator and crouched to squeeze inside. Kid was forced to stay against the wall, but he detested the asymmetry. The elevator closed and began to move down to Hell 1.

 _"Uoh."_ A squeak when the lift bumped.

"What was that?" Magellan asked.

"Me." Kid blushed. "I have… high-pitched squeals."

The elevator stopped and allowed them to disembark. Hell 1 of Underworld Prison was Prickly Pine Hell, where prisoners were forced to walk barefoot on a floor of blood-red pine needles. (Red from the blood of sinners, of course.) _"Mm-! Mm. Mm-! Mm."_

"Are you okay, Kid?" Magellan asked, hearing the squeaky sounds.

"I have a bad gulping habit and it sounds like my squeals." Kid blushed, annoyed by his friend's lack of subtlety. _This is what you get for not wearing shoes._

Magellan stopped beside a cell, prompting Kid to view into it. "Dimentio…?"

The Zathurian with the jester's uniform smiled from the back of the cell. "And so a visitor greets me like an old grandpa, dying in the hospital. To what do I owe this surprise?"

"Dimentio… my father still can't figure out the mystery behind your extended lifespan. By any chance… are you acquainted with Lord English?"

"Is my secret out? Aha ha ha… yes. I met Lord English eons ago when I fell into a Vortex of No Return. He spoke to me as a Shimmer and granted me eternal life. After that… I found a strange stone pyramid and found myself able to read its foreign text. It said… 'My name is English. You are the first of my Thirteen Servants. Allow me to feed you my knowledge.' And before I knew it… I was the instigator of the Twenty Keys Prophecy. I was the one who would initiate the threat of the Apocalypse and force the prophecy to transpire."

Kid gasped in horror. "So that business in the Netherverse—with destroying the universe's matter… it was all part of your plan!"

"Yes!" Dimentio cheered giddily. "By tampering with the Nexus, I have weakened it! At the end of this month, it will be destroyed…"

"Grr…" Kid grit his teeth. "Then… we have to go to the New World. Sigh… Many thanks for your cooperation. Magellan, there are other prisoners I want to see. By my understanding, they're on the 6th floor."

"Oh, I can't allow that, Your Highness. Hell 6 is too dangerous. The inmates down there have extremely high levels of chi and power."

"This man also possessed incredible power. Why is he on Level 1?"

"Well, he has no power in spirit form. Besides… your father requested he be in this very cell. It was his sister's former cell."

"Interesting. Well, if I can't go any lower, you can show me to the exit. Let's leave."

Magellan proceeded to walk him back. When they were out of sight, Ellen Wickens took off the Invisibility Cloak she "borrowed" from Grim. "Ouch, ouch!" She tingled from the prickly pines under her feet. "Climb down, quickly, watch the needles!"

A shrunken Cheren, Nerehc, Panini, Miyuki, Sipa, and Bon Clay climbed down Ellen's legs before Sipa used magic to grow them all to normal size. "Oh! A jailbreak, is it?" Dimentio cocked a brow.

"Here's the map Kid lent me." Ellen unraveled a paper. "A hole connects to the 2nd floor, that way. Someone carry me!"

"I'll carry ya, baby!" Bon Clay lifted her over his shoulders. "My, what trim, boney legs." He softly rubbed Ellen's half-skeletal legs. "Don't worry, Cherry Cakes, I still enjoyed our time under her robe." ;D

"Why did you bring him again?" Sipa asked.

"I thought his love could liven the dark of the Underworld?" Cheren shrugged.

"We're to be at Level 6 in 30 minutes." Miyuki reported. "Let's get moving."

Death the Kid watched as Magellan opened the elevator. The prince crossed both arms, clutching the guns on his belt. "Magellan…" The warden turned to him. "Open wide!" He whipped the pistols up and blasted rounds of spicy hellbeans into Magellan's mouth, an easy task since his mouth was forced open in shock. When enough beans were in, Kid hopped on his skateboard, surfed up Magellan's body, then stomped him in the face to push him in the elevator.

"I know you have constipation issues." Kid said as the demon was too weak to climb out. The elevator closed on him. "Hurry to the bathroom or there'll be a new floor of this prison. Now to get to the 6th floor." He hopped on his skateboard and surfed across the prickly ground. (Play "Deep Into the Shadows" from _Paper Mario: TTYD_!)

 _Stage B-30: Underworld Prison_

 _Mission: Find Zanifr and the Thirteen Darknesses_

 _Act 1: Hell's Floors_

Cheren's climbed onto a safe pathway above the needles, but alarms went off in the dungeon as Bulblin charged from around a corner. The darkness of the Underworld make them faster and sharper than overworld Bulblin, so Miyuki used timebending to Stop their arrows while Cheren froze the ground with Ice Arrow. Bon Clay slid along the ice and kicked the demons off their feet with his swan slippers. "Wah wah wah!" The okama almost slid off a ledge over a pit of giant needles, his top half completely bent over as he flailed his arms.

"Don't fall here." Nerehc pulled him back up as the path turned left, reaching a dead end over the pit. Nerehc used rockets to fly over- "AAAAH!" His flames suddenly extinguished, but Cheren caught him with the Hookshot before he fell.

"Take your own advice."

"It's one of the prison's new defenses." Death the Kid skated up. "It filters Dark and Fire Chi. The Underworld's favorite natural elements."

"Ya couldn't have told us that?" Panini inquired.

"Just don't use it too close to those vents." He pointed at a duct above the pit.

"Say, that can be useful!" Bon Clay jumped off and kicked his slippers' swans to stretch up and wrap around the duct. "Grab on, fellas!" He swung to and fro, so one at a time, the kids grabbed his hands and swooped over the pit, jumping off on the other side before Clay detached himself and joined them. When the path turned right, they saw a Bulblin riding a Goliath – a black Hollow mammoth with tusks. The Bulblin spotted them and commanded the mammoth to charge forth, so Ellen went into Hollowfication and pushed the beast back with a burst of black magic.

"This type of Hollow will is hard to defeat with sheer force." Kid said. "Ellen, push him under that stalactite! Cheren, climb those twin pillars and blow it off with a M.A.R.B.L.E.." The stalactite in question was a giant red needle hanging on the ceiling. Cheren Wall Jumped the indicated pillars against the wall, reaching a platform from which he could shoot a mini explosive at the needle's base. It dropped and stabbed the Goliath along with the Bulblin, and the needle fell into the pit.

They progressed along the path and reached a field of needles, in which a certain line of needles would briefly fall down and stand up. When they were down, they looked like a square platform was whisking across the field. Only Nerehc was fast enough to stay within the square and run along with it, doing so with excellent timing before reaching the other side. He stepped on a switch that made all the needles flat so his team could get across.

They were now on a wide, rectangular floor with four square holes in-between. A Blue Bubble, Green Bubble, Red Bubble, and Ice Bubble jumped out of the respective holes (they were winged skulls in colored flames). The distant wall over the chasm had a red Eye Switch, so Cheren shot an arrow through the Red Bubble's flame and activated it. An ice Eye Switch was on the ceiling, so Cheren lined it up with the Ice Bubble and shot it. The green switch was on the wall next to the entrance of this area, and the blue switch was down in the Blue Bubble's very hole.

With the four switches hit, a stairwell appeared, leading down a hallway to the second hell. Kid surfed on his skateboard during descent. They arrived at the second floor, seeing dementors hovering around the ceiling. Sensing the kids' arrival, they swooped down to dine on some souls. "Expecto Patronum!" Ellen materialized a silvery light cat from her hands, scaring the dementors.

"This is Fantastic Beast Hell." Kid said. "Where the fierce, fantastic creatures roam. Ah, including my half-species." They looked right as giant Skulltulas crept up hurriedly. Sipa cast shrink spells on the spiders as they charged forward and squashed them without concern.

 _"HIIIISS…"_ A hissing language echoed in their ears, coming from around a corner of cells, the same way the spiders ran from.

"TURN AROUND!" cried Kid, gesturing to do so quickly. "It's the basilisk! One look in its eyes will kill you!"

"What if I made it look at itself?" Cheren asked, slapping the Mirror Shield on his back.

"If it were THAT easy, _Harry Potter_ would've been a lot shorter, JUST RUN!" Panini sprinted forward and her friends followed. They turned down a right path and encountered Elite Wizzerds, floating white, ovular machines with antennas and four floating hands. The Wizzerds quickly surrounded the kids and began rapidly tickling them with their fast, floating hands.

"UAAAAH HAHAHAHAHA!" Bon Clay was naturally more susceptible to the attack. "PLEASE, fellas, one at a time, hahaha!"

"Hahahahaha, does tickling even work on anyone down—ha ha ha ha!" Cheren laughed.

"Miyuki's—the only one—who's not affected." Sipa spoke through chuckles. "Do something—haha."

Indeed, Miyuki was frozen in place, her body twitching as she struggled to hold it in. "HWAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!" She burst into tears and laughter.

"I'm so proud of you." Cheren remarked, still in laughter.

 _"WIZZERDS, where are you?"_ a voice called. _"We need you to clean the bat cage."_ Their antennas sparked, and they left the group alone.

"The basilisk is still behind us!" Kid hopped on his skateboard and rode down a different path. "You keep running, I'll take care of it!"

Kid found the basilisk's table and hopped on, skating to the head across the back. The basilisk felt an irritation and turned its head—Kid shut his eyes and leapt above with a flip, shooting both guns directly down to damage the eyes. He stopped to study his results: the basilisk furiously shook its head to the goop splatted over its eyes. _I've blinded the basilisk temporarily, but it can still hear. Time to give it a distraction._ He played a song on his skull phone and set it to fly away with bat wings. The basilisk hissed and gave chase, while Kid ran to find his team.

Ellen's Patronus kept the dementors at bay, but three Gigabites (flying white munching skulls) flew overhead and swooped down in attempt to bite them. Cheren and Nerehc did little damage with their swords and Sipa's Reducto spells couldn't break its skull. "Gigabites have high defense." Ellen noted. "They're very annoying, too."

"Not as annoying as ME!" Panini burst into emerald flame and rocketed up, bouncing between the Gigabites like a comet until they dropped on the floor in defeat. Panini landed and cooled down as their venture continued.

"A lot of these cells are pretty empty." Miyuki noticed. "Did they all get eaten by the beasts?"

They arrived at an open area and froze at the sight. "Uh… I think we found them." Cheren said.

"PLACE YOUR BETS!" Tallest Red declared while Purple chewed on blood-filled donuts. The Tallests were skinny and shriveled from dryness. They stood on a short platform and hosted the event. "Place your bets! One Goliath vs. a baby Big-Mouth Hippo!" The prisoners were roaring and waving as the giant Hollow elephant was pitted against a tiny hippo in the ring.

The elephant bellowed and stormed toward the hippo, intent on crushing its molecules. The hippo opened its mouth extremely wide and "GULPED" the entire elephant. "YAAAAAAHHH!" Some prisoners cheered having won their bet, others were angry.

"What's going on over here?!" Death the Kid caught up. "WHO FREED ALL YOU PRISONERS?!"

"Hey, look Red!" Purple pointed. "Some kids are here!"

"Welcome to Fantastic Beast Brawl!" Red waved. "Fine-quality free prison entertainment! (Admission is 10 D-Dollars.)"

"Hey, those are the Almighty Tallests!" Cheren recognized.

"Well, whaddya know, they're fans! We reprogrammed the Wizzerds, in case you're wondering. They can even project artificial Patronuses to scare the dementors!"

"Do you mind if we can squeeze through?" Ellen asked, trying to get past two skeletons.

"Eh?" One of those skeletons appeared to be an old man with a hearing phone. "'EY!" the man yelled at Ellen hoarsely. "It's you! I recognize you, Crystal Wick…Wicka… er, was it a soup or something?"

"You mean Wickens?"

"I KNEW IT! Well, I'll get you this time!" The man raised his bone cane. "Feel the elderly wrath of Jonah Icarus!"

"GUYS, MAGELLAN'S COMING!" A small skeleton scampered by. "QUICK, BACK TO YOUR CELLS!"

 _"KIIIIIID?! ?"_ The giant bat demon quaked the prison as he stormed forward in a rage. _"WHERE ARE YOOOOUUU?!"_

The prisoners screamed and scrambled everywhere. "Time to go, Purple!" The Tallests jumped on a Thrino (a giant three-horned rhino).

"Take us with you!" Cheren jumped off the platform and on the beast's back, which had room for the others.

"Find your own monster rhino!" Purple shouted.

"I'll persuade my father to send royal snacks down here." Kid reasoned.

"All aboard!" Red announced, convinced. The Thrino charged down the wide corridor, kicking down Bulblins riding Bullbos. "Mind if we ask what you kids are doing?"

"We're going to break some people out of the 6th floor." Sipa answered.

"The 6th floor? We snuck down there once before. I got a bad vibe from those guys."

"They liked snacks, though!" Purple said happily.

 _"ROOH!"_ The Thrino suddenly stopped as two pairs of sharp teeth sprouted up in front and back on the floor, in rectangular alignment.

"It's a giant Snaptrap!" Kid yelled. "Quick, jump!" They leapt off the front as the Thrino was devoured whole by the beast.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" Magellan threw purple acid on the Snaptrap.

"PLEASURE HELPING!" The Tallests sprinted into a cell.

"We have to hide!" Sipa yelled. "Reducio!" She zapped them down to small size except Ellen, who picked them up and backed against a wall to hide in the Invisible Cloak.

Magellan was accompanied by two dementors as he sniffed the area. His eyes directed at the space where the kids were hidden. "Do you two sense anything?" The dementors slowly floated down.

The tiny Sipa slightly peeped out of the cloak and cast, _"Expecto Patronum!"_ A crumb-size beetle soared out. Despite its size, the dementors were frightened, so they glided back down the hall. "That way, huh?" Magellan assumed. "What is Kid up to, anyway?" Magellan stomped after them.

When he was out of sight, Ellen took off the cloak and Sipa restored the team. "Heh-hey, pretty clever!" Red praised. "Tell ya what, we'll give you a hint: there's a secret hole in our cell that leads down to the 3rd level. We programmed the Wizzerds to dig it for us."

"We'll take it." Kid agreed. "It's too risky to take the stairs that way." The team entered the cell and one-at-a-time climbed down the hole in the corner. Sipa used Lumos to provide a light, but this became irrelevant by the time they were at the bottom. "Sigh…sigh…" Kid squinted his eyes from the scorching brightness. The humans were already sweating. "Welcome to Hell 3: Scorching Hot Hell."

This floor was designed like a desert, where bones lay dead in the sand, which according to Kid is actually the ashes of skeletons. Not far in, a giant scorpion emerged from the sand. Bon Clay Jr. leapt forward and swiftly dodged its poisonous sting. "Lucky for you, I'm quite adapted to hot areas!" Clay smirked. He danced toward a more solid space, causing the scorpion's stinger to be stuck when it stabbed down. Cheren charged a Skyward Sword to chop the tail in two. The beast cried before falling dead.

An army of Stalkin emerged from the sand, 3-inch tall skeletons with spears. Cheren and Nerehc swiped their swords along the ground to destroy them. "Be careful. Stalkin lurk within quicksand." Kid cautioned. "There's a switch somewhere that can turn it off."

"There's a lot of vents." Nerehc noticed the ducts standing in the open sand ground. "I can't fly across."

"I guess it's up to me." Bon Clay spun on his slippery slippers and skated over the sand with grace. Staltroops emerged to block him, so Clay maneuvered around, sliding right, then left, slightly right, and swerved around a cell before hopping up some stairs onto the cell's roof. Clay stretched his slippers to swing a ceiling duct to an L-shaped line of cells. Kargaroks flew up to peck him, but Clay kicked them out of the air with "

The okama whipped his slippers around a high point twin ducts and used them to slingshot up to a fenced platform. A Moblin whipped its spear at Clay, who nimbly flipped and whipped the two demons in the face. Clay spotted a lever labeled _Quicksand_ and flipped it down. "FELLAS, is it safe?"

Cheren ran forward. "Yeah Clay, we can move on!" Clay kicked the Moblin off the platform and rejoined his team. In the center of the room, Count Dracula was chained to a table above a garlic circle, forced to dry under the artificial sun.

 _"Kiiiiid?"_ The elevator opened as they heard Magellan's voice. _"Are you down here?"_

"This is taking forever!" Panini complained. "Does the elevator go down to the bottom floor? Let's take it and get this over with!"

"Perhaps you're right. Let's get under Ellen's cloak." Kid complied. Sipa shrunk the group once more, and Ellen carried them under the Invisible Cloak. Magellan came around the right of a wall of cells, so Ellen hurried around the opposite side. She sprinted into the elevator before it closed. The witch clicked the 'Hell 6' button and remained hidden during the descent. They stopped on the Forgotten Hell and resized as they disembarked. (End song.)

Most of the cells on this dark floor were gigantic, filled with what appeared to be giant humans with ravenous, grinning expressions, reaching for the little prey in hunger. "PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Panini shouted at them.

"I don't think yelling at them is the best idea." Miyuki said.

"Kid, why is this the Forgotten Hell, anyway?" Cheren asked.

"Because this floor is filled with people that history would like to forget. The prisoners here were extremely powerful, and their connection with the Dark Side makes them very influential."

"That's what they _want_ you to believe." A feminine voice said.

The group turned left. "Viridi?" Cheren recognized the childlike goddess in the cell.

"So, you've come to see me." Viridi said with a quirky smirk. "Or did your pitiful species realize that the world was doomed without me and you've come to free me?"

"If only you were important enough." Cheren remarked. "We're looking for the Thirteen Darknesses."

"Oh, are you?" a man's voice said. It came from a cell further down the passage. It was occupied by a brown-haired man wrapped to a chair like a mummy.

"Sōsuke Aizen." Kid spoke.

"He's one of them, isn't he?" Cheren recalled.

"So, the prophecy was true after all." Aizen figured. "I was almost afraid everyone had forgotten me… but that was foolish."

"How could they forget _us_?" The kids looked up at a larger cell on the wall behind Aizen's. Inside was a purple giant in black and gold armor, the stub of his left arm completely chained.

"And you're Thanos." Kid glared.

"And you must be servants of Medusa." Thanos smirked. "What adorable subjects she has at her disposal. If you release me first, I will happily make you my children."

"Will we rule the galaxy as father and children?" Sipa joked.

" _Thanos_ will rule _all_. And if you are obedient, Thanos will allow you to live."

"Well, if he isn't Father of the Year." Cheren shrugged sarcastically. "We're looking for a prisoner with gray skin and orange horns."

"That fellow is further down." Aizen nudged. "Is he one of the Chosen Ones?"

"Isn't everybody?" Cheren led his group down, ignoring the giants' moans as they studied the cells. One of them was designed like a classroom, as Czar Baldy Bald III was trapped in eternal remedial English.

 _"NYAAAAA!"_ A red-eyed, round giant drooled at the sight of the kids with a wide mouth of giant, venomous teeth. _"PANINIIIII! You've RETURNED to meeeee! Get in my MOOOOUUUUTH!"_

"Suck a Great White Asparagus, Big Mum!" Panini shot back.

"Are these all her relatives or something?" Cheren asked.

"No." Kid answered. "These monsters are-"

"I see him!" Ellen peeked into a dark cell. "Alohomora." She cast a spell and unlocked the cell door. She and Kid stood watch while the humans entered.

The prisoner was in the dark of the back of the cell. Cheren raised his sword as the glow from it highlighted his form. The prisoner's black clothes and gray skin (except for his purple cape and orange horns) helped him blend in with the darkness. "Zanifr…"

The troll heard his name and opened his red and green eyes. They reflected the glow of Cheren's sword. "Cheren… Just when I was wondering who'd they send to execute mmme."

"Majora!" Miyuki exclaimed. "It's… really you."

Zanifr's eyes widened, highlighting slight emotion on his features. "Mmmiyuki… Are you angry with mme for what I did?"

"I'm different from how I felt back then. But I think I… still understand your plight."

"Catch up on your romance later." Cheren stated. "Majora, the reason I came here is because a Zoni named Vriska told me you could help."

"Vriska sent you?"

"Wait, I remember Vriska." Miyuki mentioned. "She was the Zoni who put us to sleep on Moonbase. I never understood what that was about."

"The purpose of that slummmber was to allow mmme to achieve God Tier." Zanifr explained.

"You mentioned that before." Cheren remembered. "What is God Tier?"

"In mmmy universe, God Tier was the original Fury Mmmode. Elemmment benders like mmmyself could achieve this by developing our skills. But it is far mmmore powerful than _your_ Fury Mmmode."

"Seriously, stop with the M's, we're in a hurry."

"It's a habit. The reason for its power is due to Arceus's disregard for a proper Balance, as you mmmay know by now. Or should I say, it is a result of the struggle between Caliborn and Calliope. One who is able to achieve God Tier can inherit formidable chi."

"And this chi is on par with Lord English?"

"Hmm hmm hmmmm. Do not be silly." Zanifr laughed tonelessly. "If Lord English is reborn, God Tier alone is nothing. However, perhaps it would be a power to mmmatch the Octogan."

Cheren gasped. "So that means… _you_ can defeat Andrew. The King who's using the Octogan."

"Unfortunately, I don't believe I could. My element is darkness. The King of your World uses the Octogan to steal pure, holy energy. However, I believe one of similar powers could stand against him, if they possessed God Tier. I am speaking of you…"

"M-Me? But how could I use God Tier?"

"After you defeated me, Vriska curiously conducted research on you. Your great-grandmother, Shadow Queen Malevolous, was a denizen of the First Dimension, the Black Queen of the Carapacian race, and all of her descendants inherited her blood, including you. Cheren, on your journey to destroy me, do you recall how the Zoni transported you to the Dream World?"

"Yes?"

"In truth, it was not your dreamself in the Dream World: the Zoni were taking your dreamself to regions in the First Dimension. There were places in that world where Quest Beds lay, and if a person's dreamself had a symbol that matched the Quest Bed, that person could attain God Tier by sleeping on it. When Vriska recorded the symbol on your shirt, she searched for a Quest Bed with a similar symbol. She found one. So, mmmy theory is, since your blood comes from the First Dimension, it is possible for you to achieve God Tier."

"God Tier… but what are the side-effects?"

"On someone like you, I do not know. It may not even work."

"Well, this has been a waste of time." Panini remarked. "Let's save the Darknesses and get out of here."

"Hold on." Cheren said. "What if… it did work?"

"Hmmm… Power beyond your wildest dreams. The kind of power that could protect people, save lives, defeat ultimate evil… I assume you relish in that kind."

"You aren't actually considering it, are ya, Cheren?" Panini questioned. "All this just ta defeat King Andrew?"

"Why not? You were just mocking the fact I was no match for him. I already lost the Fierce Deity Mask and-"

"You lost the Fierce Deity Mask?" Zanifr cocked a brow. "Hmmm… Perhaps this is the best option."

"Why can't Mr. King battle Andrew?" Panini asked.

"Because Mr. King needs to save his strength for Ragaj. If Ragaj is planning to use an Octogan, Jagar needs one, too. If God Tier can really help me beat Andrew…"

"We can fight Andrew together!" Panini reasoned. "All your operatives—heck, the Firstborn can fight him!"

"I'm not risking anyone's lives against that monster! Panini, I HAVE to do this! In case…In case there's a worst case scenario."

"But ya don't even know what it'll do to ya!"

"It'd make me heck of a lot stronger than you." Cheren smirked. "Is that what you're afraid of?"

"N-…" Panini blushed. "No, of course not!"

"I can call the Zoni to take us to the place where your Quest Bed was found." Zanifr said. "It is your choice… Will you attempt the God Tier?"

Cheren faced Panini and Miyuki. Panini's face pled him to say no… Miyuki looked grim. If his other friends knew, Cheren was sure they would say 'no.' Perhaps, for their sake… he shouldn't.

"I think you should." Miyuki said. The two gasped.

"Miyuki!" yelled Panini in protest.

"I think… it may be the only chance. You said yourself, Cheren… that everyone must become their strongest if we're to stop this. This is no longer the Kids Next Door we read about… this is the present. And it will be… the future."

"You're really sure?"

"I am…"

"…Okay." Cheren faced Zanifr seriously. "I'll do it, Zanifr."

"Very well. Lie on the bed."

"Wait!" Panini grabbed Cheren's shoulders. She was about to do something, but bit her lip.

"Do you… wanna kiss?" Cheren laughed.

"I thought I did, but… Ay dunno, is the setup good enough?"

"I'm about to evolve beyond my mortal form and possibly become an entirely different person for the sake of protecting mankind. That's more than Chicken Little ever did."

"Fair enough." Panini pulled him in for a kiss. Cheren wrapped arms around Panini and embraced it. It lasted about a minute.

"Hurry up!" Kid demanded. "You're not even lined up properly!"

"Like you ever kissed someone." Ellen stated.

"OOOHHH my Cherry Boy!" Bon Clay cried. "He's straight after all! I'm so heartbroken!"

The couple broke apart, smiling and blushing. "I'll, um… catch you later?"

"I won't tell the other girls."

"I won't, either." ;) He went to lay on the prison bed. "Well, Zanifr?"

Zanifr snapped his fingers, and three Zoni appeared out of space as though they were waiting. They shocked him and Cheren, and slumber followed suit. The operatives gathered as Ellen asked, "What are they doing?"

"Something spiritual, most likely." Sipa said.

"Am I interrupting your slumber party?" The group gasped and whipped around. Medusa towered over the room in her true goddess form, holding baby Chernabog.. Thanatos and Pandora floated beside her, along with a familiar black demon that blended with the darkness.

"LUCIFER!" Sipa and Ellen yelled in fright.

 _"ELLEN! SIPA!"_ Lucifer beamed. _"Two of my loves… This must be fate!"_

"This is a little bizarre." said Medusa. "I planned to have you break into Underworld Prison and follow you in through the chaos… but I didn't expect you to do it so willingly."

"ZEEEE HA HA HA!" laughed Marshall D. Teach, who stood beside Truman Kirman. "This reminds me of a very similar jailbreak from my homeworld! The resemblance is… uncanny."

"These filthy savages are my fellow Chosen Ones of destiny?" Truman asked. "Delightful."

"Truman?" Panini recognized him.

"Thank you, Nerehc, for helping us get this far." Medusa said. "It's true that the unfortunate souls in this dungeon are the Thirteen. But do you see the humanoid giants inside? Those were all giants transformed into savage beasts thanks to demon experiments. They're so savage, they even swallowed other demons. For that reason, they were locked down here. I think I'll take a few with me."

"I can't allow that!" Kid raised his guns. "I surmised your only intention was to free the Darknesses. This is overstepping your boundaries, Medusa!"

"I was a rogue goddess from the get-go, everyone knows that. But in 9 days, it won't even matter. Thanatos, let's Titan things up."

Thanatos formed a cloud of Death Chi and sent streams into the kids' ears, except for Nerehc. "Ahh! I can't hear!" Sipa yelled.

"What'd you say?! I can't hear!" Ellen followed.

"Ay've gone deaf!" Panini cried.

"Now I'm about to go deaf!" Nerehc was tired of their shouting.

"That was my _Deaf_ Chi." Thanatos remarked. "Should wear off in an hour. Now, who's up for a little song?"

Medusa raised Baby Chernabog upward. The child began to sing an eerie, echoing song that rang in Nerehc's ears. The Titans were going mad in their cells, tugging and thrashing the bars with greater vigor. The more Chernabog sung, the more powerful they became, and soon they tore the hinges off their cells.

"ELLEN, containment protocol!" Kid declared, running to action.

"Kid, let's contain them!" the deafened witch went Hollow Mode and fought the Titans alongside him.

"AAAHH!" Having heard the song as well, Nerehc was forced into Demon King Mode. "What's happening?!"

"Chernabog's Demon Song empowers those who hear it with sheer madness." Medusa explained. "Especially useful on demons."

"But we can't have you over-reacting right now!" Blackbeard grabbed Nerehc, using his Dark-Dark powers to subdue Nerehc's chi. "Lead the way, Medusa. I can't hear a thing with this Deaf Chi."

"Where are you taking me?!" Nerehc struggled, unable to summon fire to free himself.

"Patience, Nerehc." Medusa led them around the cells toward a cave with a green glow. "Thanatos, Pandora, free the Darknesses and get these Titans under control."

"Nerehc! Come back here!" Sipa chased them.

 **Great Clock's Cyberspace…**

Cheren and Zanifr appeared in a strange, dark room. The troll was wearing purple garb that depicted his heart symbol and Cheren wore the golden suit that depicted the "C" with an 'x'. Cheren glanced down at it. "Is this the symbol you were talking about?"

"Yes. Beyond this realm is a Quest Bed with the same symbol. Beware: this place is a song level. Keep with the rhythm, lest you fall behind."

"Lead the way, Zanny." Cheren smirked.

"Hmmm… Still overconfident, I see." Zanifr returned the smirk. "I mmmust admit, I'mmm impressed that it has lasted this long…"

"Heh… So am I."

"Hmmm… It would be a shame if it goes to waste. Follow quickly." Zanifr flew ahead. (Play "Homestuck – Glub-a-Glub" by Iam_theeridan on YouTube!)

 _Act 2: Glub-a-Glub_

 _"LOOK ALIVE, Starshine. 413 in the sky, but the dogs won't quit? You're here with me: Ragaj Gnik. I'll be your host… your savior… your server player…"_

As Cheren ran into the darkness, a deep, echoing voice spoke from afar. Faint green lights flashed within the space, and he could make out Ragaj Gnik's form. Cheren ran into nothing for 30 seconds before guitar music began to play, and was required to jump small bumps in rhythm with the notes. _"Listen up! The future is murderproof! God Tier is secondary! It's time to keep calm and hide on the veil. Team adorabloodthirsty, make some noise!"_

 _Glub-glubba-glub glubba-glub_

As this verse repeated, Cheren jumped a pit, then a pit, another pit, rolled under a gap – he grabbed his sword and sliced a zombie troll, a zombie troll, zombie troll, jumped a pit and sliced one – he Hookshot up to a wall, Hookshot up to the ceiling, then he bounced some flying trolls and – Ground Pound down a hole!

"Slime, gimme slime!" Zanifr sang as Chuchus dripped from the ceiling, forcing Cheren to jump slime pools and slice them, "I don't eat it," Cheren spun through a giant Chu, "but I'll take what you got," Cheren jumped three Chus on rising platforms, "bake a pie and I'll keep it." Cheren sliced a zombie troll at the top.

"Twelve trolls to the wall," Cheren sang as he briefly ran up a wall, "kill the King, watch him fall," he kicked off and knocked down a king's statue, "AND WE CRAWL AND WE CRAWL AND WE CRAWL!" Cheren performed three belly-slides to go under closing doors.

Zanifr followed, "Love, gimme hate," Cheren hit a Spring Shroom, sliced a Kargarok while flying, "gimme quadrants 'cause we need it," he briefly stabbed down in front of a window, cut through, and jumped out the other side, "but I'll take what I want," Cheren jumped pits and sliced other Kargaroks, "fill your pail and I'll keep it." Cheren stepped in a pail, briefly rolled, and kicked it up at a standing board and knock it down to make a bridge.

"In a folder in a card," Cheren jumped large folder platforms before they closed on him, "put an 'X' on the code," he sliced a XANA copy, "GIMME MORE, WANT MORE, GIMME MORE!" Recovery Hearts descended over lava pits, signaling where to jump. "GET DOWN AND PLAY THIS WITH ME!" He Hookshoted Zanifr down to force him to run alongside.

The Glub-a-Glubs repeated as Cheren used the sail to glide up a windy shaft. "From Land of Wind and Shade." Zanifr sang. They then raced up a hill of flowing tea, slowing their progress for a few seconds. "To Little Cubes and Tea." At the top, they ran for a statue of Bill Cipher. "BILL IS THE ENEMY!" They cut through it together. "He – gave us – his – affir-mation!" Cheren knocked away mini Bills along the way.

The duo came to a zipline and glided down. "Message to him from me!" They stopped at a cliff, where Cheren shot a Light Arrow at a giant Bill. "Destroy him totally!" They continued the path—a circle of Bills exploded around them. "IT JUST KEEPS HAPPENING!" They fell into a great long pit, Cheren stabbing through Bills and matching the rhythm. "Let – us – face – humi-liation!"

They collided with stable ground as Cheren ran up a stack of Fatblins' shields. "Let me tell you about the Demon King!" Zanny sung as Cheren jumped over the top Fatblin and grabbed onto him.

"Ugh! Majora, don't act like royalty!" Cheren kicked down at Bokoblin stacks while Zanifr flew. A large fireball was coming, so Zanny dropped him and flew over. "Don't forget you are a bad guy," Cheren bounced off a troll below and grabbed Zanny again, "and such a sad guy," they repeated the action, "and turned the moon into a creepy guy!" Cheren bounced over two Bills and Ground Stab down a stack of Chus. "YOU'RE A JERK, YOU MASKHEAD!"

The glubs resumed as they raced through a burning region of falling debris. "In this cacophony…" A giant boulder threatened to crush, but they fell through a weak floor through a dark tunnel, "where we can barely see…" They followed the light at the end, and immediately zombie trolls surrounded Cheren. "WE'RE TRYING NOT TO BE," he spin-attacked them all and ran from falling boulders, "murdered in our civilization!"

Cheren used the sail to float up a wind gust, "Message to him from me!" then sliced down a stack of Bills with a jump attack, "Destroy him totally!" Two Bills closed in, but a spin-attacked sliced them. Four large Bills dropped and failed to stab him. "IT JUST KEEPS HAPPENING! Everyone to battle stations!" All of Cheren's friends sprouted up by his side.

 _"And right here… right now…"_

The operatives disappeared as Lord English's likeness appeared in the heavens. _"All the way back on the timeline…"_ Bubbles depicted Dimentia and Dimentio on Zathura, of Crystal Wickens and Figure falling in a sea of clocks. _"The little wigglers raise their open, shining eyes…"_ The bubbles displayed Cheren, Dillon, Sheila, Nebula, Aeincha, and others in their youth, their eyes brimming with aspiration. _"Like tiny candles up to Heaven, and all the paraplegics and the blind girls…"_ Nolan York, Toph Beifong, Aisa, and Goombella's bubbles lit aflame as their essence flowed toward English's open hand. _"Ask the purple-blood and the crazed hero from a land of wrath and angels,"_ Zanifr and Zach Murphy were displayed, _"who screams out, 'WHO WILL SAVE US?!'"_ English clenched them all in his hand. _"And the veil opened up…"_

The Gate of Time materialized and opened. Cheren rushed in, seeing bubbles of Fanverse, IDA, Legends, Shadow Play, and the Original Worlds as he zoomed down two ziplines. "Everybody wants to make a world! Everybody wants to make a world, but NO ONE!" Cheren stabbed through Bill twice, "NO ONE WANTED TO DIIIIEEE!" He slid down a very steep slope, quickly ducking shutting doors to Zanifr's rhythm, _"I wanna try, wanna try, wanna try, wanna try…"_

"I'LL BE YOUR SAVIOR!" Cheren jumped through the Lord English illusion. As its essence scattered, Cheren stopped to catch his breath, passing his smirk to Zanifr. Soon, the song continued with Glub-a-Glubs, wherein Cheren had to jump on a high, then a low, then a high, then low platform.

"Make no apologies!" Cheren cut a Bill, jumped, and cut another. "It's death or victory!" Cheren jumped and sail-glided over Death Chi.

"On Cherry's authority!" Zanny remarked.

"CRASH AND BURN, it's US against him!" Cheren used M.A.R.B.L.E.s to blow down boulder piles, then jumped to slice down a Ragaj statue.

Cheren ran up a stairwell while Zanifr flew. "I'm tired of all this running." sang the latter.

The top of the stairs slanted and directed down. "You're very funny." remarked Cheren, who reached the bottom. Both chopped through a Bill statue and chorused,

"I'D RATHER BE A GOD!"

"Than – be – here – to – tell – this – story!" Zanifr sung.

"We won our game so WHERE'S OUR GLORY?" Cheren jumped high and low platforms.

 _"We all died and watched our dreams EXPLODE."_ Together, they smashed down on a spring that shot them all the way into space, watching the planet they were all explode completely. Cheren and Zanifr set foot on an asteroid, where a golden bed with Cheren's symbol lay. (End song.)

"Hoo boy… that was something else." Cheren gasped.

"This is it." Zanifr said. "If you believe you have become strong enough, you can sleep on this bed and achieve the God Tier."

"I kicked your God Tier butt. Of course I'm strong enough."

"Then lie down…"

Cheren placed his weapons beside the bed and laid on it. He closed his eyes in an attempt for slumber. "…Heh. That song's still in my head. I don't feel tired at the moment."

"It mmmatters not. In order for the God Tier to activate… you must die."

Cheren's heart jumped. "D-DIE?! That wasn't part of the deal! !"

"If you knew, you would hesitate to mmmake your decision… but I intend to see for myself." Zanifr took the Master Sword's sheath and drew it. "AAAHH!" The sword zapped him.

Fi jumped out. _"Ignorant Zanifr, only Master Cheren may hold the Master Sword. Furthermore, the Master Sword cannot stab targets against the user's own will."_

"So, all this was a scheme to kill me?!" Cheren shouted.

"Hmmm… I cannot deny I am vengeful. However, your life or death mmmatters not to me. There is still a chance the God Tier could be true. It seems the choice is yours…"

"…" Cheren took the sword and stared at his reflection in the metal. "Fi… what are the chances God Tier could work?"

 _"I'm sorry, Master, but the laws of the First Dimension are beyond my understanding. But if you so desire, you may take the ultimate test and impale the Master Sword through your own chest. Think very carefully, Master…"_

Cheren replayed this month's events in his head. His father, who possessed the power of Malladus, died by the World Leaders' hands. He couldn't defeat Morgan without Sunni… and his trump card, the Fierce Deity Mask, was gone. _"One day, this month, you are going to die."_ Miyuki told him. Perhaps her words were true. But what if the worst should happen? If Lord English returns, he will need to be more powerful… if Mr. King is victorious, than it would be for nothing. Either way, he didn't have the power to face King Andrew. And even so, Cheren was irrelevant to the prophecy. Perhaps it would work out on its own. As long as his operatives were alive and happy, he needed nothing more… But for now, he would die for them.

Cheren lay on the bed and stabbed the Master Sword into his chest. He lay dead with the sword standing in him like a pedestal. Zanifr bowed his head in remorse. The space felt eerily quiet.

 **Underworld Prison**

With Blackbeard still holding Nerehc, Medusa led them to an underground cave where the Sanzu River flowed. The river appeared as deep as a black hole, an infinite abyss of ghastly green. "Let Nerehc go right now!" Sipa jumped in Teach's way and aimed her wand.

"Stay out of this." Zorc launched dark magic from his hand and blew Sipa aside.

"This is the deepest chasm of the Sanzu River." Medusa said. "The spirit of Ganondorf Dragmire is down there. Nerehc… you must swim to the very bottom and collect his soul from the depths."

"But… won't I die?"

"Thanks to the burst of power Chernabog gave you, you should be able to survive in the river for a longer period. I would say the choice is yours, but… it's either you or the universe. Take your pick."

Ghirahim emerged from the Devil's Sword. "I will be with you, Master. I will ensure your survival."

"That's awfully loyal, Ghirahim. What's the catch?"

"Hm hmm…" Ghirahim smirked. "I would like to bring Ganondorf back as well, Master… I would need to help you both escape to get my wish."

"Nerehc!" Sipa recovered and took his hand. "Nerehc, you're not really going down there, are you?!"

"I don't think they've giving me much a choice. But if Ganondorf is the last Darkness… I think it has to be me. I have his power."

"…" She stared into his eyes with, close to tearing. She knew what was to happen, and deep down, Nerehc knew. "Please don't die."

He gave her his cool smile. "I promise." The two shared a kiss for a minute. The villains moaned in disgust. "Okay…" Nerehc took a breath. "I'm ready."

And with that, Blackbeard threw Nerehc into the river of death. Ghirahim dove in after, and Medusa watched them swim into the vortex. "Even though, as a full god, I probably could have lasted longer. But who's complaining?" she shrugged casually.

Nerehc swam as fast as he could in his Demon King mode. He felt the Tides of Time affecting his flesh, and the souls of the deceased felt rage for the Demon King and tried to claim him. Ghirahim sliced the spirits away—dozens swarmed them, swallowed them in a cluster of agony, Nerehc burst with violet flames and scattered them.

The tunnel grew narrow as they swam ever deeper into the depths. The green glinted rashly in Nerehc's eyes and the horrible liquid leaked into his mouth. He never held his breath for this long, if he didn't hurry, he would drown in the tears of a million souls. But as the swim took him deeper and deeper, the number of souls were dwindling and the light was fading. Soon, it was pure quiet, and pure darkness.

Nerehc saw a stone pyramid on the riverbed. It was the Pyrameglyph. Only one soul lurked down here, drifting around the stone like a mindless fish. Its green muscular body and flowing hair… It was Ganondorf. Nerehc swam down and grabbed the soul. Assuming he already read his destiny, Nerehc began to carry him up. _"MMMMM!"_ He gurgled a scream when the soul grabbed him in turn. Ganondorf's vicious demonic features faced Nerehc. His mouth opened wide as the Dark Lord tried to slurp Nerehc inside.

Medusa's group watched in wonder as the Sanzu River bubbled. _"UWAAAAHH!"_ A powerful figure burst from the water and crashed on the shore. As the deathly water dripped from his body, Ganondorf's soul retained a physical appearance. He gasped for breath, for parts of his skin were still molted and boney. "Heff…heff…heff…heff…" Ganon looked up at Medusa and the demons in her company.

Medusa smirked, glancing at Lucifer and Chernabog. She raised the baby demon and declared, "Eat up, Ganny!"

 _"HAH!"_ Ganondorf raised the Devil Sword and leapt at Chernabog.

 _"WAAAAH!"_ the baby unleashed its deafening wail in pain.

 _"AAAAAGH!"_ Lucifer was sliced afterward.

Ganondorf set foot on the ground and stabbed the blade into his chest. A shining white wound opened up… The two Demon Saints dissolved, and their essence flowed into Ganondorf's body. His flesh repaired itself, the demon thief sporting his ecstatic evil grin. "Did you read the Pyrameglyph, Ganon?" Medusa asked. "Bill said it was down there."

"I did." Ganondorf snickered. "It said, 'You will rise again, King of Demons. The world belongs to darkness.'"

 **Ganondorf awakened as a _DARKNESS_. All Twenty Keys have awakened.**

"So, all this time… you only wanted the Demon Saints to revive Ganondorf?" Sipa spoke with utmost horror.

"What did you expect?" inquired Medusa. "You didn't think THEY had anything to do with the prophecy."

"But… w-where's Nerehc?"

Ganondorf licked his lips and raised the Devil's Sword. Ghirahim leapt out, bowing before Ganondorf. "Ghirahim!" cried Sipa.

"Master Nerehc is no more, Sipa." the Demon Lord said. "I belong to Ganondorf once more."

"! !" Tears spilling, Sipa bolted out of the cave.

"Should we stop her?" Zorc asked.

"Let her run." Medusa said. "We'll have plenty of time to snuff them all out."

 **With the others**

"Zanifr!" Panini perked up when the troll awoke. The humans were standing their ground while Kid and Ellen defended them from Titans.

"Mmmm…" Zanifr stared at Cheren's body.

"What's wrong with Cherry Boy? ?" Bon Clay asked. "Ya need me ta kiss him?"

Miyuki put a hand on Cheren's chest. She waited for a pulse. …She gasped. "He's… dead."

"What?!" Panini ran up. She listened for a heartbeat and shook her friend. "Ch-Cheren…"

 _"RAAAAAHH!"_ Under Thanatos and Pandora's influence, the Titans finished tearing the hinges off the Darknesses' cells. Thanatos used his Death Chi to dissolve the chains on Madara Uchiha, along with his blindfold. Pandora used her Chaos Fire to burn Sōsuke Aizen's mummified wrapping.

"You guys!" Sipa came charging back to them. "Nerehc is dead!"

"DEAD?!" Miyuki yelled, Panini cupping her hands over her mouth in horror. They faced Cheren's dead body. It was true after all. God Tier failed.

Death the Kid fought to hold back a tear. "We…We must escape. It's too late to stop all this madness. Get Cheren's body!"

Zanifr opened a Dark Portal. "This will take you outside the prison."

"And WHY should we trust you this time?!" Panini screamed through her tears.

Miyuki peeped into the portal. "It's safe! Let's go!" She jumped in.

Panini and Clay grabbed Cheren's body, ready to enter the portal. Panini spared a remorseful glance to Zanifr before going. Sipa, Kid, and Ellen hurried in as Zanifr closed it.

The Titans were sent to rampage the rest of the prison. Medusa picked up the cracked yellow diamond from its cell. Thanos' was freed from his chain, staring at stub of his missing arm. "You have a way to fix us, I would hope." He said.

"You can wait, Thanny. Sōsuke, Madara, carry Xehanort."

The two approached Xehanort, who was still bound in his Multi-Lock Prison. They picked up his stiff body. "You know that some of us are still dead, Medusa." Madara mentioned. "We will be powerless in the living world."

"You'll have your freedom, Madara. That is, if Zeref is still in our favor."

"HEY, BALDY!" Thanatos yelled at the Chrome Dome Emperor in his classroom cell. "Remedial English is over, get your butt up!"

"No, I can't!" Tsurulina III yelled, clenching his temples in aggravation as he flipped through a book. "I've been trying to find the origins of the word 'Is' for 10 years! And I was already in the middle of deciphering the meaning behind caveman songs! Does anyone know what 'Aughsucks is the best captain' refers to?!" Incidentally, the book had a drawing of a cyan-haired cavegirl.

"Baldy, I think you're a little out of date." Pandora presented a document to him. "The government outlawed remedial English, deeming them pointless. Officially, the new way to speak now is with Internet lingo, and everyone's good at that."

Baldy Bald took the document and read it curiously. "BRB means 'Be right back', lol means laugh out loud, LMFAO my BFF…"

"Congratulations, you now speak perfect English!" Medusa stamped him with a smiley face. "You pass, Tsuru!"

"HOORAAAAAY!" Baldy kicked all his English books away. "Now that I got my degree… LET'S TAKE OVER THE UNIVERSE! !" His eyes burned with passion.

"Majora, aren't you coming?" Medusa asked as they began to leave. "You deserve part of the glory for getting rid of that wannabe Hero of Time."

"You're not still mad at me for kicking your arse, are ya?" Blackbeard remarked.

"I ammm commming." Zanifr stepped by Viridi's cell. "Well… you mmmust be very happy I destroyed your adversary."

"Is Cheren really… dead?" Viridi asked with a hint of remorse.

"I do not believe _you_ are really dead."

"Obviously not." The goddess smirked. "Cheren may have drained my powers, but he couldn't totally destroy me. My molecules reassembled in the Spirit World. Unfortunately, Grim was waiting to capture me."

"Then it would be bad for you to escape. Of course… I think we both should attend his funeral." Zanifr used his whips to slice open the bars of Viridi's cage. "He was a very good kid, after all." He formed a dark portal behind him.

Viridi smiled at the opportunity. "I suppose he was… but DON'T think I'm teaming up with you." The goddess entered the portal, and Zanifr joined her to the outside.

 **Outside…**

The world turned gray around Miyuki. To her, it always seemed Cheren was the light of their world… and now that light has gone out. The others will be devastated when they find out… but Miyuki would have to press on. They all would. For him. "…Cheren…" Miyuki meant to tell him this before. Her final words to him: "Happy birthday." (Play "Pay Your Respects" from _Batman: Arkham City_.)

* * *

 ** _Seven Lights: The Side Stories_** **: Cast:**

 **Sharon Mann as _Nerehc Onu_ and _Cheren Uno_**

 **Brittney Karbowski as _Wendy Marvell_ , _Ydnew Llevram_ , and _Sipa_**

 **Tom Kenny as _Augustus von Fizzuras_ and _Hcaz Yhprum_**

 **Keith David as _Harvey Facilier_**

 **Jad Saxton as _Carla_**

 **Jason Ritter as _Dipper Pines_ , _Sonny_ , and _Popo_**

 **Kristen Schaal as _Mabel Pines_ , _Donna_ , and _Nana_**

 **Seth MacFarlane as _Stewie Griffin_**

 **Mike Henry as _Rallo Tubbs_**

 **Tress MacNeille as _Maggie Simpson_**

 **Cherami Leigh as _Asia_ and _Ragus_**

 **Melissa Fahn as _Ikuyim Latsyrc_ and _Miyuki Crystal_**

 **Jennifer Hale as _Ininap Yksvolird_ , _Panini Drilovsky_ , and _Fybi Fulbright_**

 **Tara Strong as _Anthony_ and _Michelle McKenzie_ , _Aliehs Citnarf_ , _Ydolem Noskcaj_ , _Melody Jackson_ , and _Yddam Yhprum_**

 **Kate Higgins as _Karin Kurosaki_ and _Sarada Uchiha_**

 **Grey DeLisle as _Mandy McKenzie_ , _Azula_ , _Cindy Cortix_ , and _Big Mom_**

 **Lisa Ortiz as _Zeira_ and _Ellen Wickens_**

 **Todd Haberkorn as _Death the Kid_**

 **Alan Cumming as _Fegan Floop_**

 **Cree Summer as _Medusa_**

 **Dan Green as _Vaati_ and _Itaav_**

 **Monica Rial as _Annie Wilconson_ and _Mirajane Strauss_**

 **Alison Viktorin as _Chelia Blendy_**

 **Lindsay Seidel as _Romeo Conbolt_**

 **Troy Baker as _Arlon_**

 **Walt Dohrn as _Henry Churchill_**

 **Wally Wingert as _Rusty Pete_ and _Tallest Red_**

 **Jane Lynch as _Yellow Diamond_**

 **Leonard Nimoy as _Xehanort_**

 **Hynden Walch as _Madame Rouge_ and _Viridi_**

 **Aaron Spann as _Zanifr Mimchi_**

 **Alex Hirsch as _Bill Cipher_ and _Stanley Pines_**

 **The story continues in the Inferius Arc…**

 ** _Seven Lights: The Side Stories_** **: _END_**

* * *

 **So yeah… if you didn't read the Side Stories, you would've been spoiled in the main story. :P I agree the Side Stories weren't as exciting as the main story, but these arcs were still necessary all the same. We got character development for Augustus and Wendy, learned who the Darknesses are, and I think this contributes to the grand adventure over all. Anyway, Underworld Prison was based off Impel Down from _One Piece_ (where Magellan's from), and I plan to add more to the stage, but I have school coming up. Anyway, thanks to those who read the Side Stories, next time we will finish the main story.**


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